From the Ground Up
by I.Dream.Of.Hardyz
Summary: Recent high school grads Austin & Ally don't know each other despite living in the same city. One day, Ally's father finds out she never interned for a medical practice that she needs in order to get into med school. She's forced to intern at a teenage rehab injury facility. There she meets Austin Moon, who will show her more about living than she ever knew existed. Auslly OC.
1. Chapter 1

**You're all probably wondering why I'm publishing another chaptered story. It's because I enjoy torture, I tell you. And because this story poked and ate at me for the last two days or so. So, here it is. I'm telling you guys this: I was partially inspired by the book/movie Me Before You but have also been inspired by two songs, 'From the Ground Up' 'Dan + Shay and the song 'Better Place' by Rachel Platten, among a few other interests that I've been itching to write about. That said, I'm not giving up on TIOOM by ANY means, but am just working through a bit of writer's block there. Anyway, I've got about four chapters prewritten so you can expect an update fairly soon with this story. Finally, feel free to ask me any questions or comments here or on my twitter (theredheadariel is my twitter name - let me know you're from ff and I'll follow back :D) because I love talking to people.**

 **And uh yeah, our lovely Auslly is a bit OC in this, but do y'all expect any less of me by now?**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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"I'll meet you at Brad's house after ten." He followed the other young teenage male to his locker, shoving papers and assignments further into his worn book bag until they stopped, looking up in time to see his close friend and practically brother Dez Wade nod his head with approval. "I have to wait until my parents go to sleep. Then, we can get to the party."

The redheaded friend smiled widely, "I hear Carrie is going to be there." He slammed his locker door shut and practically jumped with excitement. "I saw her looking at me the other day in History. I think she likes me."

"You were looking at her," he reminded, "Maybe she was weirded out, dude."

"Bro," Dez complained. "You're my wingman, don't say things like that."

He wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulder and just laughed. "I'm just playing around, dude. Calm down." He made it to the door of the school and glanced around. He didn't see the girl or her friends, so he added, "I'm sure you have a chance. I believe in you, man. Just relax a little."

Dez folded his hands over his chest. "Believe in me a little more, would you?" He rolled his eyes. "I'm not the one on the fast track to marriage with Piper." The young male smiled at the thought of the pretty girl who smelled like cotton and vanilla. "It must be nice to have that kind of thing. You never have to worry about it."

"I like Piper a lot," he admitted. "But I don't have to marry her."

"But you will," he stated.

Austin nodded, "Of course."

"Your parents would freak out if you didn't," he pointed out.

He had a valid point. He didn't want to admit this though. It seemed too weird-set-up-marriage kind of deal. "They would deal. I get that I have it easier. But Piper and Carrie are cousins, so I remind you that you stand a chance. I'll talk to Piper before I leave. Maybe she'll put a good word in for you."

The redhead grinned ear to ear, waving as his ride pulled up. "Good to hear, my man! I owe you one. See you later, Austin!"

Austin waved a final time to his now thrilled best friend and chuckled. He then slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way down the parking lot so that he could walk home in the blistering near summer heat. Miami was warm all year round, as most people knew, but when it got to the warmer months, it could be unbearable. At times like this, he wished he had some sort of car, even a junk one that broke down every few weeks. He was eighteen-years-old and one of the few people he knew that had a license, but no car. Dez was on his fourth attempt for the test, having failed each previous driving test. He knew eventually he would get it, but for the time being, he was happy scoring rides from his older brother.

Besides, Austin knew his parents couldn't afford to get him a car. If they could, they would have. His mother worked as a stay at home mother, she had been one all of her life. His father worked as a firefighter during the day for the town (it changed from a volunteer job about a decade back, but the money was not good—it only barely paid the bills) and was their local church's pastor on his off days. Most nights, they were counting up change to make sure the bills were paid. He never wanted to make it so that they couldn't afford the important things, like food and shelter.

Austin wished he could work, but he often found himself at the church when he was out of school, helping keep it running with Piper, the other pastor's daughter. Oddly enough, they both had children before taking the oath to become closer to their Lord (though unlike the priest of their church, they were allowed to marry and have children, though it seemed some members of the church still frowned upon that), and the families knew each other since they were in diapers. Austin often felt like some old time country song each time his mother and Piper's mom got together. They were their fairytale romance in the making. And Piper was great. She sang in the church on Sunday's and volunteered her time down at the homeless shelter when she was not busy at school or at the church. She loved animals and hoped to one day take over the vet clinic the next town over.

Austin of course was expected to follow in his father's footsteps, though he often wondered how well the town would take to another pastor of the same family. He believed thoroughly in religion and was at church every Sunday, though he also was not sure if he was the right person for the job. His father often told him that he would come into his role as time went on and he would feel more worthy of it as well.

Still, he just wanted to get through the last few weeks of high school first, and have a relaxing summer before heading off to college. His parents were working him hard so that he could get a full scholarship (he was smart, but sometimes wondered if he was that smart) and they wouldn't have to add another bill to their already full tab. He would go to school for religious studies, again following in his father's footsteps.

But that was all in due time. Tonight, it was the start of the weekend and Dallas was having a huge party down by the lake. All of the school was practically invited. Though summer was still a few weeks away, it was usually known to be the start of the warm celebrations. If you were anyone in the town, you wouldn't miss it.

The problem happened to be that his parents did not approve of teenage parties, like most respectable parents did not. Though, unlike most parents who knew it was a right of passage and uncontrolled in many aspects, his parents forbid him from going every year. The last couple he'd stayed out from, but even this year, Piper was going. And he really did like Piper, maybe even love her, and something told him that she looked really good in a bathing suit. Though, they were both waiting for marriage, he'd seen her close to naked a couple of times (don't tell their parents) and he could only imagine… you get his point.

The walk home was quickly over and Austin tore off his book bag and changed out of his school clothes and into something more comfortable. His mother was out on errands, and his father was still at the firehouse. He had a few hours of peace and quiet until the party, and he lied down on his bed, closing his eyes. He pictured how great Piper would look in a bikini, though she was self conscious so he figured she'd probably opt for a one piece. Maybe if he'd get lucky…

Thinking of it, he quickly texted her.

A: Hey beautiful :) you are still coming tonight, right?

P: yessir :) getting a ride from Carrie I will see you there

A: Awesome… tell Carrie that Dez wants a chance with her if she's willing

P: Dez Wade?

A: How many Dez's do you know?

P: Fair enough. I'll let her know. He's a little strange, though.

A: He's my best friend, Pip. And he's a nice guy.

P: I know that. He's God's child and I do not judge. I only shared a thought.

A: I know. :)

P: I'll see you later, alright? :*

A: Back at cha

He closed his phone and glanced at the clock. It was only five pm. He could take a nap and be up with plenty of time to sneak out. With that thought, Austin closed his eyes. Tonight would be one to remember.

 **From the Ground Up**

Ally Dawson glared at her closet, walking from one side of it to the other, absolutely hating every piece of clothing she owned. With a sigh, she found her phone from where she placed it (near her shoe collection—103 and counting, thank you very much) and quickly texted her best friend.

Trish called her immediately at the text of distress but laughed into the phone, "What is it Ally? You have a walk-in closet. How can you possibly not find something to wear?"

She huffed at the giggle in her friend's voice and rolled her eyes. "I have nothing to wear," she repeated her text out loud. "I'm going to meet Cooper for dinner tonight and all I see is blah, blah, and more boring choices. I want to wow him—we've been dating for three months now! I need to keep things interesting, spice them up! How can I say that with a dress I've already worn?"

"Good God," she heard her Latina best friend mumble. "You sound ridiculous. I'd offer you something from my closet, but it wouldn't fit." She would be correct. Trish was curvy in all the ways that a short girl should be, while Ally was also curvy, but much taller than her friend. She would look ridiculous in her clothes. "It's too late to go shopping," she also pointed out, "So what are you going to do?"

"I am going to sit here and cry my eyes out because I'm going to look like a homeless person."

Trish snorted, "Dramatic, much? Listen, why don't you just head to the mall and grab something quickly. Or have someone go get something for you."

The girl snorted back at her, "I don't trust anyone to pick out clothes for me." She glanced at the clock on her wall and sighed, "I suppose I could be back within an hour. But it's really going to cut into my make up time. What should I go for?" She glanced into the bag she picked out that morning when they had gone to school and picked out her father's credit card. He said to only use it when she needed to and then laughed when she smiled and said of course. He knew that she would use it whenever she wanted. He wasn't the naïve kind of parent who thought his teenage girl would be mature and responsible with his deep pockets.

"You're staring at his card, aren't you?"

"You know me so well," she laughed, flicking the card with her manicured hand. "I'll call you before I leave later. Tell me how your night in with Jace goes. All the details, girl."

Trish practically blushed through the phone. Her friend had met his boy online several months back and had discovered he only lived a town or so over. They fell helplessly into each other and now that he had his license, he was making regular trips to see her on the weekends. He always laughed, according to her, when he pulled up to their neighborhood. Something about how Trish's home looked like a mini hotel. She had shrugged and said, "Money talks, you know?" It was nice to be the daughter of a fashion designer.

Ally often got first dibs on her best friend's mother's designs. It looked fantastic on her almost every time, as if the clothes were made for her. But, unlike Ally who lived in a large house too, Trish's parents tried to remind their daughter what it is like to grow up a normal kid. They didn't throw money at her or try and buy her more things to make up for the days they were away. In fact, as much as she was set with financials like Ally, they would never give her a credit card. She even had the smallest room in her house (which was saying a lot because she still had her own bathroom—but enviously so, not a walk in closet, and she too loved clothes).

"I'll make sure I savior every memory so we can gush over them later," Trish replied finally, bringing Ally back to the present. She smiled into the phone, glad to hear her best friend so happy. "I'll let you go before you burn down your closet. Call me when you're on your way or text me a picture of what you pick out. I don't think I'll be able to stop by tonight before you leave."

"Sure thing," Ally agreed. "Love ya. Bye!"

The phone clicked and Ally listened to the house as she came out into her room. The silence answered her and Ally sighed. Her parents were both doctors and often worked long hours away from the house, usually only home on weekends, but that wasn't even sacred. Her father was a well known and respected surgeon who worked on some of the worst trauma cases at a private Miami hospital. He made off extremely well on his own, not to even begin to speak about her mother's private practice just down the road which also took in considerable profits. She couldn't remember a day that she wasn't wearing designer clothes or driving the newest sports car.

Her father was once a very cheap man, especially back when he had just graduated and become a doctor and had yet to pay off his loans. He would save every dollar he made, but as the money came in, the habits faded off and he insisted that they enjoy every dollar instead. She'd never gone without in so many ways. In fact, she was probably more pampered than any teenage girl should be.

She waved at one of the house cleaning lady's as she bounded down the stairs, running to her car in the garage, finding that someone had vacuumed it out for her and washed it in the two hours she was home from private school. She was set to graduate in a few weeks and could not wait. She too wanted to become a doctor and follow in her parents footsteps, though she did not want to work in a hospital, or near any old people. She wanted to deal with the least threatening doctor job she could. In her eyes, maybe working with children A pediatrician would be her safest bet.

Trish always told her she was too stuck up to have a bedside manner anyway. It wasn't that—she just knew what she wanted and when she wanted it. If she didn't get it the first time and she God forbid had to ask a second, you weren't going to like what you heard.

She was a nice person. Just as long as you gave her what she wanted, that is.

Ally beeped at the lawn mower as she backed out of the large house and pulled onto the road. She put on some bubble gum pop and sped down the gated community until she reached the highway, _accidentally_ cutting some four door piece of junk off. With a hand to her mouth she simply continued on until she reached the mall, parking in a handicap spot because they were always empty, anyway. Half of the people who parked there didn't look like they needed it. So why couldn't she use it?

She went inside and went immediately to one of the new boutiques that had opened, looking for something that spoke to her. Putting her sunglasses in her bag, she stared at dress after dress, hating every one she saw. Maybe she should call Trish back and ask if her mother had anything she could lend her. It was only for one night, anyway.

Then, she saw a simple but well made dress out of the corner of her eye. She hurried over there but just before she got her hands on it, some other girl had picked it up. Her eyes bulged further seeing it was her size.

"Excuse me!" she snapped, giving the small girl a look of contempt. "I was going to buy that."

The blonde girl glanced at her as if she was mentally unstable. "I'm sorry. I think there are a few more." She pointed to the rack of other sizes, all larger.

She felt heat come through her cheeks. "Are you calling me _fat_?"

"What?" the girl was immediately caught off guard. "No… I was just suggesting…"

She glared at the girl dressed in distressed jeans and an old, worn tank top. "Those are all _larger_ sizes." She again made sure to see that the girl saw her look at her. "Can you even afford this dress?" She plucked the price tag in front of her eyes. "Maybe you should go try Forever 21 or something. It seems more in your _range_."

The girl went from being confused to immediately on the defense. "I don't think it's any of your business. But look, I had the dress first, and there are plenty of other dresses here." She smiled sweetly, but Ally was the queen of fake, sweet smiles. She saw right through her. "Maybe you will like one of them. I have a date with my boyfriend tonight and I really want to make him happy."

"That's great," she snarled, "But take your own advice."

She went to rip the dress out of her hands, and the girl held firm. "You bitch, just give it to me!"

She shook her head, going toward the register when the cashier behind it started to get worried over their confrontation. "I'm sorry you seem so unhappy in your life," she stated. "I hope you find happiness someday." Ally only then saw the silver cross under the tank top then, dangling in front of her. _Damn religious nut_ , she thought under her breath. _Telling me to find happiness. I am happy!_

Ally growled a final time and then stormed off, going to another store. She found a dress, one that she did not like nearly as much and paid for it with a victorious swipe of her father's card. While she did not like it, she knew that the other girl definitely couldn't afford this one (it was twice that price) and smirked to herself. She showed her.

Tonight would be one to remember.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! Y'all are awesome. Thank you for the reviews; I am enjoying what you all have to say. I'm hoping to update every five or so days, so next update will probably come on Friday after this, but if I get a bunch more written in the meantime, that might change. Anyway, it's really nice to see a lot of familiar faces but also some new ones. I hope this story lives up to your expectations. I'm enjoying writing it. :)**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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Austin woke to a text from his girlfriend saying that she couldn't wait to see him and how surprised he would be. He smiled at Piper's cute text and wondered what it meant. He then saw that the clock read eight pm and that he must've slept through dinner. He walked down the stairs through his house, hitting all the creaky steps that really needed to be fixed and stopped short at the kitchen when he heard his mother softly crying. He could smell the dinner still in the air—probably chicken—and wondered if maybe she was upset about him oversleeping. Then, he noticed she was on the phone.

"I'm sorry, Jamie. I know you have to get ready for the bake sale tomorrow, but I didn't know who else to call. How can you tell your son that he can't go to prom because you can't afford the ticket? I know how excited he is. But we just can't do it – we're already a month behind on the mortgage and as much as I would put it off for months and months to see him happy, I cannot do it. I know God doesn't give us more than we can handle, but I'm struggling. I need a sign, Jam." She sniffled. "I know I'm rambling; forgive me." There was a silence. "Yes, I am praying, of course. I just wish I understood the world sometimes."

Austin felt his chest constrict at the sound that his mother had not yet bought his prom ticket, and got tighter when she started to sob to her best friend (Piper's mother) because she felt so guilty. He already had everything planned for that night – and he knew Piper was so excited.

"No, I refuse to let you give me the money, Jamie. I know how you have been struggling too since you lost your job. I am not asking you for that." There was another silence. "I don't give a … I said no," she said firmly. "I know you say that you hare giving me God's will, but I refuse. And if you try to give it to me anyway, I will not help you with the bake sale tomorrow."

There was a pained chuckle.

"Yes, I will not help you. My delicious apple pie will just have to go unmade tonight."

Another silence.

"Alright, Jamie. I think I'm going to wake Austin up, he slept through dinner. I know he's had a rough few weeks with school, so I let him sleep. Besides, Mike had a rough day at the firehouse and I think he enjoyed the time to eat alone without a family dinner. It'll get better, I know that. Thank you for listening to me. You're my person," she laughed, and then she heard the phone click. That was his mother's and Mrs. Clark's thing. They always said they were each other's person. Their platonic soul mate kind of deal. Like himself and Dez.

He waited a few moments so it didn't look like he was eavesdropping on the conversation (and so that he could remind himself that prom wasn't everything and that Piper would understand) and then strolled into the kitchen, wiping his eyes for dramatic affect.

He finally turned to face his mother and smiled, "Sorry, mom. Did I sleep through dinner?"

She smiled back at him and amazingly he could not even tell she'd been crying. Women were some sort of mythical creature. "Yes, sweetheart. It's okay. I saved you a plate. If you hurry, you can help me finish off the pie in the oven so I can let it cool for the bake sale tomorrow. Are you coming? I know you probably have a lot of studying to do with finals coming up, but I know Piper would appreciate the hand at the register. This is a very big sale for our church."

"Sure thing, Mom." He helped himself to the plate in the fridge and quickly microwaved it. "I will be there. Are you heading to bed after the pie is done?" He inconspicuously eyed the clock… it was nearly eight thirty. He had an hour and a half to sneak out. It seemed that his father was at the church for some time, probably to prepare for the bake sale tomorrow, and if his mother headed to bed, he could make it seem like he was asleep on his own bed without anyone noticing.

"Yes, Dear. I have had a long day," she chuckled. "That was my fifth pie! Fifth! It seems our lovely church family raved about the pies last year. I couldn't just bring two."

He knew how great his mom's pies were and could understand. "Alright. How about you go up and get ready then? I'll take the pie out when the timer goes off. You deserve to get a good night's rest."

She smiled lovingly at her son and he felt a twinge of guilt for using her like that. Still, she was lying to him about prom without even knowing it, so that made him feel a bit better. "You are a wonderful child, my Austin. Thank you. Please make sure you turn off the oven. We do not want to burn our home down." She winked. "I don't think your father wants to go back to the fire house tonight."

He laughed along with her. "Alright. Sleep well, Mom. I love you."

"Love you too, Austin."

She left the room and he quickly downed some of his dinner, and then turned off the oven as the timer went off. Finishing off the remainder of it, he put the pie in the window and then tossed the plate into the sink, climbing the stairs quietly so that his mother wouldn't hear him. Then, he quickly changed into a new pair of shorts and a tank top, bringing his bathing suit with him. He didn't want to wear it there because wearing a wet bathing suit on the way home would be uncomfortable and weird.

Finally, he texted Dez and said that he was about to leave. Brad lived only down the block from him and his older brother was letting Austin borrow his car so they could drive down to the lake. The lake was one of the few areas in Miami that they were surely safe. It was nowhere near any kind of normal hazards like alligators or sharks, and Dallas's parents owned a huge lake house there that everyone knew and loved. He was so glad that he wasn't missing it this year.

He snuck out with more expertise than he imagined he had and silently apologized to God for lying to his mother about his whereabouts. He then ran the short distance to Brad's and thanked his brother for the ride. They ran off into the night, piling into the car.

"Dallas's here we come," Dez crowed. "Summer 2015 is gonna be the best one yet!"

The lake house was packed when the boys arrived and Austin felt exhilarated just being there. He quickly parked the car on the grass where they were told to and told his friends he was going to look for Piper, to find him when they were ready to leave. He also winked at Dez when he saw Carrie out of the corner of his eye and then laughed, walking into the crowds where people were drinking and dancing inappropriately with each other.

Finding Piper in the crowd did not come as hard as he thought it would.

She was with a group of her friends, all girls in the church choir and smiled brightly at him when she saw him coming. To his surprise, she was holding some sort of drink that smelled of alcohol and from the way she jumped into his arms, it wasn't her first.

"Are you drinking?" he asked in surprise. It wasn't that he hadn't snuck out to have drinks with his guy friends before; despite being the pastor's kid, he was far from innocent. But his girlfriend was much more religious and firm in her beliefs. He only saw her drink wine at Christmas dinner every year.

She nodded with another huge smile, "It tastes amazing," she admitted. "Like candy!"

He sniffed and figured it probably had tequila in it. No wonder she was already so happy. He laughed, taking a swig of it himself.

"Hey, get your own, you cute boy, you!"

He resisted the urge to tell her to slow down and then just admired her. She was wearing a beautiful black dress that clung to her body, the straps showing off her bathing suit—to his delight a two piece—what kind of night was he in for? He couldn't help but smile. She had her hair simply pulled back and out of her face and her make up barely on. He loved her when she just radiated pure happiness.

"You look beautiful," he told her, kissing her cheek. "How long have you been here?"

"About an hour," she giggled and dragged him over to the table. He helped himself to a beer, bumping into Dallas who also was pretty drunk himself. He waved at the popular jock and they shared a few words, before he was whisked off by some blonde girl with tall, long legs who wore a skirt that he was sure could probably slip off with wrong move. Austin shook his head, noticing that Piper had left to be back with her friends, and he gave her that space for a bit. He mingled with his classmates, joking and laughing when he heard the first person go splashing into the lake. Oddly enough, it was Carrie.

Austin laughed harder as one of her friends dunked her under and she came back sputtering, looking pissed. Still, the girls giggled and Austin saw Dez go in after her, and they began to chat. He floated somewhere out in the water and he admired his friend's balls. Drinking could make anyone brave.

"How about you join me in that water?" Piper cooed and Austin smiled another time seeing her now stripped into just her bikini. It was hard not to enjoy what he saw. He knew what he wanted as a man but also understood how important and wonderful it would be to wait. Still, looking would not do any harm. He told her so and she erupted into further giggles, demanding he switch into his bathing suit and meet her by the water.

It all went well for a while as everyone swam and played around. He saw Dez goofing off with Carrie out of the corner of his eye and Piper was enjoying using Austin as a floatation device. He was careful to keep his eye on her because had had a few drinks. He didn't want to explain any near drowning experiences to her parents.

Then, there was a shout and Austin flipped around, Piper still clinging to his backside when a tall, burly dude that Austin recognized as Carrie's ex and a football player came up to Dez. He too was pretty sloshed as the football guy whose name escaped him threatened Dez, telling him to keep his distance from his 'girlfriend'. Carrie scoffed but it did little to deflate the situation. Austin asked Piper to let go and demanded that she go sit on the shore for a minute while he tried to straighten the situation out. Drinking could be great, but it brought the assholes out in a lot of people.

He stopped in front of the scene, giving Dez a look that said 'I got this'. As much as Dez dressed quirky and often acted just the same, he was really a shy guy who didn't like confrontation. He knew how much he really appreciated and worked for Carrie and having her there with him probably meant the world. Some dumb jock was not about to screw that up for his best friend.

"Yo," Austin said, trying to garner the attention of the said football player.

"Brody!" some other guy yelled. "Pastor Moon's kid is yelling at you."

Yelling would be a huge overstatement. He simply stated a word, but Brody flipped around like he'd threatened his entire family and then to steal his girl, too. Austin flinched at how much larger he was then him and then went on with it anyway.

"What's the problem?"

"Mind your own fucking business, dude," the guy snapped, shoving him away. He got right back into Dez's face, who was trying his best to protect the blonde behind him. He saw Piper out of the corner of his eye, standing on the beach with a towel, looking worried. He shoved Dez this time, much harder and told him that he needed to get his hands off his girlfriend. The verbal assault continued to get more physical when Dez defended himself for a moment, and then he lunged at his redheaded best friend.

That was all Austin needed to be the hero. He tackled him first and they wrestled under water, deeper and deeper until his lungs burned. He came up at the surface to an enraged jock who wanted more. Austin, having had swim lessons from a young age, dodged him until they were on the shore, probably not a great playing field now that the guy had a one-up on him again. The football player tackled him on the ground and he heard girls shouting for it to stop. They wrestled and punches were thrown, finally being broken up by Dallas who insisted that the guy leave.

Before he did, he got one last word in. He glared at Carrie, "Why don't you tell him about your baby?" he snarled. "Our baby?" He tilted his head. "Oh wait. It doesn't exist anymore."

Sometime later, Carrie, Piper, Austin, and Dez were sitting on the beach, sharing a bottle of something strong that didn't really taste all that great. Carrie had gone from hysterical to somewhat blubbering. She hadn't gotten an abortion, like the asshole had made everyone think (though Piper was first to assure her she wouldn't have thought any less of her for it), but instead lost the baby a few weeks back. She was secretly relieved in a sick way, she was not ready to become a parent, but losing something so precious still hurt more than she could ever put into words.

His sick attempt to hurt her only brought the four of them closer, and as time went on and Carrie revealed that he not only said things like that to her, but also abused her, Austin and Dez were so furious that they couldn't contain themselves. Absolutely nothing that the girls said could stop them from quickly heading to Brad's brother's car and going to the house of the football player. They got in, ready to go show him a piece of their mind but did not take into account just how much they had had to drink.

They were on the highway when Austin drunkenly slurred that he was going to punch him in the gut so hard that he felt the kind of pain that Carrie went through.

Dez shouted similar threats. They were so egged up on the adrenaline yet so tired and impaired otherwise, he didn't notice slipping into the other lane until the headlights came forward. And by then, it was much too late to do anything to stop it.


	3. Chapter 3

**I am blown away by the response to this, and I am so thankful for all the wonderful comments and words. You guys are making me want to update and write faster, and I have done just that. Hopefully, if this bout continues, I can keep updating at this rate. As you all might've guessed by now (and that I warned by stating in the first chapter), this story was inspired by other events/stories/songs/etc. I am just trying my best to keep myself intrigued, too. That said, this story will deal with a lot of medical aspects. Some of which I am familiar with, and some which I am not. I have done quite a bit of research, but again, I am not an expert and I would appreciate if there is something wrong and someone kindly corrects me. I in no way want to offend anyone. I simply wish to make people happy with my writing (though some would say I do the opposite ;D)... anyway, shutting up.**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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Ally finished high school as the valedictorian, which pissed a lot of people off. Some even say she bought her way there. Truth was, Ally was a fantastic student, and many just assumed because she was rich and known as a mean girl that she couldn't possibly be smart too. She made a speech that probably didn't mean much, took her prom date Cooper with her to a wonderful night, and then sat back on her in ground pool and enjoyed the start of summer vacation. It went like this for nearly a week until one day, her father came up beside her, casting a shadow over her sun (she was working on a better tan since she wanted to go on vacation in a few weeks).

He looked down at her with scolding eyes.

"Yes, Daddy?" she asked, wondering what she might've done. It wasn't like she had chores (they had house keeping for that) and she honestly had not spent any of his money in the last couple of weeks. She was practically a normal, boring girl.

The man held a letter in his hands. "This is from your college," he stated simply. "It says they will not accept you after all unless you get some community service in this summer. They need to see your will to help others in a medical field. I thought you volunteered at the hospital during winter break, Ally!"

Her cheeks burned a bright red, something only her father had the ability to make her do. "I … I um might've had Elliot's mother say to you that I did." She did not mention the things she had to do to Elliot in order for those words to be said.

He rolled his eyes, "I am paying for your college education, Ally. I am not going to pay for you to attend somewhere else. This is the school I attended and I do not want to look like a fool in front of them. I truly do not appreciate being lied to, especially from you." He folded his arms over his chest, making him look even more menacing. "I already fixed the problem, don't you worry." She smiled brightly, but then he shook his head. "You can kiss your vacation with Trish in the islands goodbye, because they could not work around it."

Ally immediately began to complain, "But Daddy, we already booked the hotel!"

"Cancel it," he snapped and she shut her mouth immediately. He was truly pissed. "You're going to be volunteering at a place I picked this time around. I think you'll find it worth your time, at least I hope you do." He narrowed his eyes. "I know you would like to make your mother and me proud, and I hope by being there you will."

"Where am I working?" she asked, beginning to fear he had her set up at a nursing home or something. She would not wipe old people's butts!

He smiled this time, though there was no happiness in his face. "There is a rehab facility up at Miami General that houses severely injured teenagers. They face a large range of problems, and the intern program there which your school is affiliated with. You will go there Monday through Friday for the next six weeks. In turn, the school will allow you to start in the fall."

Ally was appalled. Six weeks of volunteering for this internship meant she would only have two weeks of freedom after it was over. What about her plans for her trip? "But…"

"No buts. I'm disappointed in you, Ally." He pointed to the house. "I suggest you start getting ready because you have to be there for orientation at two pm."

Ally waited for him to go inside before tossing her magazine into the pool, stomping her feet onto the marbled ground. This was not fair! Why did she have to have volunteer work in order to start college? It seemed ridiculous! Everyone else she knew was having the summer of their lives, and she was going to have to cancel the one thing she'd been looking forward to for weeks! Wait until she told Trish.

Begrudgingly, she was on her way to this rehab facility at around one forty five, while she spoke to her best friend via Bluetooth on the highway. She was still furious but she didn't want her father angry, and she really did want to get into that school. Still, it made her mad that her father couldn't work around her vacation or find something that she could do both with. Besides, what could she do at a rehab facility? She was going to school to become a doctor, not a physical therapist.

"Are you going to be working with like people with broken arms and stuff maybe?" Trish asked. She was at the mall with one of their friends, shopping for some party that was in a couple days.

"I don't know!" she snapped, beeping at some guy who didn't go fast enough for her. "I'm just so upset. We've been planning this vacation for months now! I've already got two bathing suits picked out!"

Trish laughed, "I know that it sucks. But we can go when you're done. We'll just rebook. Don't worry about that. Don't worry about me—I'm not upset. The beautiful islands below us aren't going anywhere."

Ally huffed, "Yeah, until some mega hurricane comes through and wipes them all out."

"It would probably wipe us out too," Trish considered.

Ally practically screamed, "Great. Awesome. Just kill my summer now. Maybe I'll get washed away and will find myself on some island anyway. Perfect."

"Have I mentioned that you're dramatic?"

She didn't offer her a response to that.

"I'm pulling up to the place now, Trish. I'll call you when orientation is done. Hopefully I'll make it through it without wanting to shoot myself. Have fun shopping. Without me," she added pitifully.

Trish laughed into the phone, "It'll be _torture_ without you."

She hung up on her.

Ally sighed as she tossed her phone into the bag beside her and looked at the building. It was small for a medical center, only two stories and looked as if it had seen better days. Public hospitals usually had that problem. The fancy hospital that her father worked in looked like something out of the future, and the landscaping was absolutely stunning (this place only had a few overgrown rose bushes that covered some of the sign). She figured they probably couldn't afford to have it redone.

She killed her car's engine and then walked across the cracked pavement until she reached the entrance. Inside, she asked where the orientation was set to begin and the director at the information desk informed her it had already begun. Ally glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed it was ten past two. She was late. Wonderful.

She thanked the person despite this and found where orientation had begun, letting herself make a grand entrance to inform every other person in the room that she was important. Important people can come in late.

"Would you be Miss Dawson?" a short man with a receding hairline asked. She nodded curtly. "We appreciate timely people, Miss Dawson. Please take a seat and let's not make a habit of it."

She stuck her chin up at this and sat next to a kid who looked like he was sweating buckets. Disgusting, she made sure to keep her distance. In the next half hour, she listened to the stuffy man explain the program to the ten or so other interns. They would be paired up with someone close to their age (the ages ranged from about 15 to 18) and were expected to learn the basics of the challenges the patient faced and detail how their recovery went. In the end, they were to turn in an essay on what they learned, and how this would help them in the long run as they advanced in their medical field of choice (guess it wasn't just future doctors in the room).

"I'll pair you off as follows. You are more than welcome to introduce yourself to your partner today, but I do remind each of you that your partners might be in varying levels of physical and mental condition. They are here to heal and some injuries are worse than others."

The girl a few seats down raised her hand. "Yes?"

"What does that mean?" she asked. "I would like further knowledge on this." She sounded like a robot.

He smiled at her, "That means that some of these patients might be in a wheelchair, or have other medical needs that you might not be too familiar with, or have experience with. We try to keep our patients matched with people with similar medical backgrounds, but it doesn't always work out. Some of these patients have been here for a while and some are only going to be here a week or two. That means that you would be repaired with someone else."

Ally rolled her eyes. Awesome.

"And back to my list… please listen for your name." She tuned him out as the first few names were said and then she heard hers come from his mouth, "Ally Dawson, you have been paired with Austin Moon. He is in room 5B on the second floor. Feel free to go to the information desk and pick up a copy of his folder when you are finished here. I'm afraid you will not be able to meet with him today."

"Why is that?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"He's in surgery today, will be back tomorrow," the man explained.

Ally nodded, satisfied. The orientation went on for several more minutes, before they were separated into even smaller groups to learn the basics of HIPAA (privacy rights) and some basic medical knowledge for those who were truly new to the field. By the time they were done for the day, it was nearly five pm and Ally was a bit tired. She hurried off to the front desk where she gathered Austin Moon's file. She tossed it in her bag and then walked back over to another girl, named Cassidy Regan who complimented her shoes. Her heels were one of her favorite brands, so the girl must have some sense. She figured she'd befriend her.

"Who do you have?" she asked.

Cassidy pointed down the hall where a dark haired boy with glasses was walking with a severe limp. "You can't tell but that's Jake. He lost his leg to cancer a couple months back. He's working on a fake one and he'll be here just about the same amount of time we will." She smiled brightly. "He's actually kind of cute." She glanced over the piles of paperwork they were given and laughed, "Wouldn't it be funny if we fell for each other? I hope there isn't a rule against that."

Ally forced a smile. She couldn't imagine ever doing the same.

When she got home, Trish and a few other girls were waiting for her by the pool. She tossed her bag with all the paperwork at the door and immediately went to change into her bathing suit so she could join them. Together, they hung out in pool rafts as the sun went down, drinking frozen drinks mixed with alcohol now that her father had gone back to the hospital.

"It's such a bummer," Elisa stated with a sigh. "You guys had such a great vacation planned. Can't you make him change his mind?"

Ally sighed, "No. My only hope is that whoever I got is only there for a short while. I can scam my way into the volunteer hours I would still need and we can still go. The vacation is a month away." She pointed to an imaginary calendar. "I'm not canceling it yet. I still want to go."

Trish raised an eyebrow beneath her cheetah print sunglasses. "I thought you told me you canceled it already."

She grinned, sipping her brightly colored drink. "Nah. I have hope."

"Well, you did say you were being paired with someone. Who is it?"

"Some guy named Austin," she said. "I couldn't meet him today because he was in surgery. I figure he probably broke his arm or something and it'll be simple."

"Sounds like it," the other girl Naomi grinned. "I agree with Ally. You guys will be able to go with no problem." She sighed, flipping onto her stomach on the raft. "Bring me back some of that sand, would you? I can only dream of getting there." Ally smiled at the girl, but secretly was laughing in her head. Of course she could only dream of getting there. Her father was once a successful business man but his business had tanked over the last winter. She knew the girl was swimming on borrowed money practically. Soon, they'd have to move out of the rich house down the street and into one of those houses that she passed on the way to the facility that day.

"I'm sure you could come with us," she stated for affect anyway. "It's only a few thousand to go."

Naomi smiled like she wasn't hiding a huge secret. "Oh yeah. Maybe."

Elisa broke the awkward silence that followed. "I say we get drunk! It's Ally's last night of freedom for the next six weeks!"

She glared at her friend, but raised her glass anyway. "Yeah, guess so. To my freedom."

Trish only rolled her eyes as the girls' clanked glasses.

The next morning, Ally's alarm went off at seven am and she resisted the urge to throw it out the window. Instead, she dragged herself out of bed and began her morning routine, trying to find something to wear that was cute but also functional for the rehab center. She saw the way the guy doing the orientation had looked at her outfit and didn't need to be reamed out two days in a row.

She settled on a pair of dark wash shorts and a sparkled tank top, using her fashion sense to add the appropriate jewelry. She then tossed her hair onto her head for a moment, deciding if she couldn't be at the beach, she would fake some beach waves. When she was done, she looked absolutely perfect.

With a sigh, she tried to put a smile on her face, but even she could tell it was fake. Further to her annoyance, she didn't even have time to switch her bag from yesterday. Inside, she saw the file on Austin Moon that she still hadn't read. How much did she need to know anyway? She would meet him and she was sure it would be simple. Vacation would still happen. Besides, she had texted Cooper that morning and he wanted to take her out on a date that night. So, she had something to look forward to when the day was over.

Glad that no one was home, she quickly grabbed a protein bar and smoothie that one of the house keepers had prepared and began her drive to the facility.

Once there, she noticed several other interns already with their patients. She heard Cassidy (who she ran into first thing) say that one of the other girls was paired with a blind guy and rambled for a few minutes about how awful that must be. She was waiting for Jake to get out of some appointment so they could meet up. Ally was still not sure what this whole deal was.

"What am I supposed to do for five hours?" she asked Cassidy, folding her arms. "I don't know this guy. Maybe he doesn't even want someone here."

Cassidy looked a bit taken back. "You take their mind off things, I would think. You learn about their condition in the process." She smiled genuinely. "It's a great experience for med school and I really hope that me and him remain friends. I already spoke to his mother and me and him are going to head out to the park down the road from here and have lunch. I brought some with me."

She revealed a homemade packed lunch that she left on an abandoned wheelchair. She even had a few games inside. She looked worried for a moment, "I don't know what he likes. He's 17 just like me. I assume probably hanging out with friends and doing guy stuff. I just want to make him feel better. His mom says he's had a rough few days after receiving the fake leg."

Ally had stopped listening at this point. She seemed like the doctor type that her parents were. Cared for anyone and would put their heart on their sleeve in an instant if it made someone smile. She was just not that person.

"Ally, are you still listening to me?"

"Yes," she lied, giving her a bright smile. "Good luck with all of that. I suppose I should go find my patient."

Cassidy grinned, calling over her shoulder, "Good luck! I'm sure you'll hit it off."

Ally first had to find the elevator, which seemed ironic considering most places like this had it in the front of the building. Instead, this building's was in the back, near a utility closet that reeked of bleach. It was old and shook when it climbed to the second floor and for a second, she thought it might collapse with her in it. Instead, it opened with a creak and she stepped out, finding a similar layout. Ally looked on the front of his file and saw that the room was 5B and she began to walk down the corridor, seeing she was near room 15. Finally, when she got to the front desk, a nurse greeted her.

"Hello! You must be one of the interns. Who is your patient?"

Ally forced a smile, "Austin Moon. Am I near room 5B yet?"

The nurse made an unreadable face, one she couldn't understand. "Ah yes, just this way. Have you met Austin yet?"

"No," she admitted. "He wasn't here last night."

"Yes. He arrived early this morning following his surgery. According to his mother, it went well. From his file, you can understand why that's a great thing." She motioned for Ally to follow. His room seemed to be in the corner of the hallway. She was about to admit that she had yet to read his file, but did not know if that would land her in trouble. She figured she would elude further to what happened to him before they got there anyway. "I think you'll find his room to have a great view. I was telling him this the other day. You can see the beach from there. Though, many former patients claimed it was quite the tease…" It seemed this woman could talk for what seemed like hours. Ally just kept nodding her head, until they stopped before a half closed door. "We're here. Mr. Moon?" she asked, knocking gently.

There was a silence before a voice said, "Yes?"

"Good morning," she said more cheerily. "It's nice to see you awake. I spoke to your mother before. I'm sure she's told you now that we're pairing many patients with interns who will be working toward medical degrees in the future. I have come to introduce you to yours."

The voice didn't answer for a moment. "Alright. Come on in."

She opened the door and motioned for Ally to follow. Seated in a bed was a blond boy who looked to be about her age with a mop of hair that was quite impressive. From her viewpoint, she couldn't see anything wrong with him. His arm was not even in a sling. He waved with one hand from where he sat on the bed, covered by a thin hospital blanket. Beside him, he had some sort of video game that he was playing.

"Hi, I'm Austin," he stated warmly. He had a bright smile. Maybe he was almost ready to leave and this would be the brightest, fastest experience of her life.

"I'm Ally," she stated back and the nurse beamed like this was some sort of great feat.

"I'll let you two get acquainted," she practically cheered and left the room.

Ally did not move from her spot in the doorway, simply kept her eyes on him. He looked like a typical Miami teenage boy, with a tan and probably a smile that could melt a girl's heart than shred it the next day. He eyed her from the bed, as if he couldn't figure anything out.

"So…" he trailed off.

She raised an eyebrow.

He then laughed, "Are you going to come any closer, I don't bite."

"Why don't you?" she fired off without meaning to, but he only laughed a second time.

Ally didn't understand what was funny.

She stepped forward a few inches and crossed her arms.

"You seem uncomfortable."

She was a bit uncomfortable, as she couldn't figure out why she got paired with this kid, or what kind of surgery he had since he looked perfectly fine. He also seemed to be in pretty good spirits compared to the sad, pathetic looking patients she'd seen downstairs. She chose not to answer his question, instead walked over to one of the windows where indeed, you could see the beach. A part of her yearned for it.

"You like the beach?"

She turned curtly on her heel. "Yes."

He raised an eyebrow this time, "I prefer lakes."

"That's how you'll get mauled by an alligator."

Austin chuckled. "I don't think I would put up much of a fight at this point."

She turned to him fully this time, giving him a quizzical stare. "What does that mean?"

He glanced at her bag, which she dropped at the door when the nurse left. His file was poking out of it. Suddenly, she remembered what the guy from yesterday said. There were some at the facility who were dealing with mental recoveries. Maybe that was his issue. It would sure explain his odd behavior.

He ran a hand through his hair, and then asked, "Did you read my file?"

She froze in place, digging her flip flop onto the ground. "Not yet."

His head bobbed up and down as if he suddenly understood. "I gotcha."

"What?" she practically seethed. "Listen, I'm really not sure what you're coming at, but could you please make a little sense?" She paused; wondering if that was offensive to his recovery. "I mean," she stammered, thinking she probably just screwed herself.

He obviously understood she had no idea what was going on, and wordlessly flipped back the covers on his bed and she stumbled backwards at what she saw. He was missing one leg completely just below the knee and the other one was severely, darkened and bruised. He raised an eyebrow again, as if to say _do you understand now?_ And then smiled.

"That looks disgusting," she said without a second thought.

Austin was clearly taken back but did not appear offended. "Yeah. I know. Thanks."

She shrugged.

"So like, are you working on crutches like Jake, or do you have a leg yet?"

He smirked this time and just shook his head. "You want to be a doctor, right?"

She got defensive at his humorous tone. "Yeah. I do. What's it to you?"

"Did you even read my file?" he repeated, crossing his arms.

She shook her head meekly, feeling like she might've missed something. Taking this as her cue to finally skim through it, she walked over and grabbed the file. The first few sentences were about the amputation. The second leg was severely damaged but they were hopeful that it would recover. Maybe that was why he was in surgery the day before. Then, the color drained from her face and she whirled around as if there should be some sort of clear sign for this kind of thing.

" _Paraplegia_?" she stammered.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Yep." Then, he rolled his eyes, "In that case, if you wouldn't mind taking that gigantic designer bag off my wheelchair and bring it here, I would love to get the hell out of this bed today." Ally was too shocked to give a proper retort.

"Alright, I'll repeat: I'd like to get out of this hospital bed today, so if you could—"

"I heard you," she snapped, coming back to the present. She walked back over to where she plopped her bag, seeing she'd dropped it on a wheelchair. She instead put her bag on the counter beside it and wheeled it over to him, folding her arms over her chest because of his snarky comments.

He just stared at the chair, then her. His lips folded into each other and then he rolled his eyes. "You're kidding, right?"

Ally was getting annoyed by his attitude more and more. He either needed to start making more sense, or she might punch him. She considered this… would she lose the internship over that? If not, it might be worth it.

He motioned to his lower body with a snarl. "Did your Barbie Doll brain forget that I cannot move my lower limbs?!" She felt herself step back a few inches at his anger. He seemed nice enough when she walked in, but she didn't appreciate any of what he was doing now. "I cannot get into the chair myself."

She immediately went on the defense, "I didn't know that!" she stated. "I don't even know how to help you get into it."

Austin groaned, pushing a button, "God help me if you were ever my doctor."

"Yeah, sorry," she snapped back, "I haven't been to med school yet, so I don't know anything. Whoops, like that's my fault."

He didn't answer her, only waited for the same cheery nurse to come into the room. Austin then put on a fake smile to rival hers and said, "Nurse Wendy, Ally hasn't learned how to transfer someone via a bed to a wheelchair yet. Can you show her how? I told her you would be more than willing to teach her. I didn't want to scare her at all the first day."

The nurse, now known as Nurse Wendy immediately began to apologize. "Oh, Ally! I should've told you that. Here, let me show you the easiest way for us smaller girls to move people who are bigger than us… you see… it's all in how you lift…" she trailed off and Ally watched, still annoyed at how he was acting. His behavior was completely different when the nurse was in the room and that bothered her. Ally didn't like being treated like that. She usually was the one with the upper hand. Was this a challenge?

Finally, Austin was in the chair and according to his own comments, "Relatively comfortable, thank you." The nurse asked if he needed anything else, then Wendy left the room again and Ally resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him like a child.

There was a silence. Ally took the time to look around the room. She didn't know how long he'd been here, but the rooms weren't decorated like some of the others she'd passed along the way. Maybe he really was almost done here and would be going home. She was about to ask him this when she noticed he'd already wheeled himself out of the room and was making his way down the hallway. She threw up her hands and followed after him, calling his name.

He stopped short, to her surprise and Ally managed to now plow into him with seconds to spare. "Where are you going?" she demanded.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Kinda depressing to sit in a room all day," he chided back. "Everyone hangs out in that big room downstairs. I would like to not spend my days a miserable asshole, so if you'd allow me that, I'd be great."

"But!" she called out as he started to wheel forward again. "I'm supposed to be your… your whatever the hell I am!"

He turned the wheel this time, giving her an impassive stare. "So, follow me then and try not to whine like a five-year-old child. There are people here with a real reason to cry."

With that, he was off again and Ally just groaned and followed. He better be gone by the time the island vacation came up. Because if this asshole was the person who stopped her from a tropical beach, she would make sure he never forgot her name.


	4. Chapter 4

**I love you all. Thank you so much for the kind words. We're going to learn much more about Austin's accident and all that surrounds it soon enough. For those of you who are familiar with Tom Maden from MTV Scream, that's who Jake looks like (who is more heavily in this chapter). And yes, I used the same name bc Tom Maden looks like a Jake. ;D Anyway, this chapter is more set up but it's important. :)**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

* * *

Down in the main area, Ally saw several other interns with their patients. Cassidy was with Jake in the corner and they were playing one of her board games, while two others looked on. There was another guy who was holding a walking stick and laughing with another guy who she assumed was the intern. Another girl was hooked up to an oxygen tank but moving faster than anyone else in the room while the sweaty intern from yesterday tried to keep up.

When Austin came into the room, Jake's face lit up. "Hey, man!"

"Bro," Austin answered and Ally scowled to herself. Why did everyone else seem to like him? He was being a douche bag to her.

"This is Cassidy; she's who they hooked me up with." Ally saw a twinkle in his eye. Almost as if he had the same thought process that Cassidy admitted to the day before. He introduced himself to the strawberry blonde who was very polite and they shared a few words. "Who is your buddy?"

Oddly, Austin didn't make a negative comment. "Oh. Ally is. She's over there. Ally?"

Ally came forward and forced a smile. "Hello. Nice to meet you."

"You too," Jake said and he glanced at Austin, who had covered his lower body with a blanket. "How did the surgery go yesterday?"

At the question, the blond teenager lifted the blanket to show a surgical tape covering part of his intact leg that she hadn't noticed. "So far so good. They think for sure now that it should heal and have no lasting effects." He smiled ruefully. "So here's to hoping…"

Jake nodded solemnly. "I'm thinking about you every day, man. I don't pray like your family does, but you are always in my thoughts."

Ally raised an eyebrow at this. The loudmouthed, rude teenager below her was from a religious family? Why did he seem so normal? The only religious family she knew lived down the block and they often were preaching to her about how important it was to get God into your life. Ally never realized that not everyone could be like that.

"Thank you. I have hope, but not too much."

Jake laughed. "Yeah. You guys want in on our next game?" They were playing CandyLand. Ally wanted to snort. She couldn't remember the last time she played that, but Austin nodded his head vigorously.

"Hell yeah. Oh man," he said with excitement. "You have no idea how good I am at Candyland I used to beat…" he trailed off, his eyes casting downward. He only allowed that for a second before returning with a smile, curtly cutting off the other thought. "Yeah. I'd love to play. Ally?"

She was surprised that he included her. She shrugged her shoulders, knowing she was stuck here for at least another four hours and sighed. There was no escaping it.

Time went slow. It turned out that Cassidy owned more board games than Ally could ever remember seeing, and each time, Austin beat everyone. Finally, after about an hour, a nurse called Austin away, stating that he had appointments to get to. The nurse instructed Ally that she could not come to his first appointment (it was some sort of mental consultation she got the feeling), but she was welcome to sit in on the second. Austin didn't look thrilled by this, but shrugged his shoulders. She thanked the nurse and said she would meet them in the room in about a half hour.

From there, she sat with Cassidy and Jake.

"So, how do you like Austin, Ally?" Cassidy asked as they started a game of Left, Right, Center.

"I don't really know him," she said with honesty. "He seems alright."

Jake cut in, "He's a good guy. He's been through a lot in the last few weeks. He got here last week, and I must say, today's the best mood he's been in thus far." Ally cringed internally at that. That was not a good sign for her. It would be a rocky road, it seemed. "I think the surgery going well as much improved his mood."

"Ah," she said lamely.

"Has he told you everything?" Jake asked.

Ally shook her head, "No."

Cassidy eyed Jake with curiosity, but he didn't elude to anything further. He simply stated that Cassidy owed him a chip and pretended like he never said a word. They got so into the game that Ally didn't realize it had been forty-five minutes until Cassidy said so.

With a hurried motive, she left the main area and tried to remember which room that Ally was supposed to meet the nurse and Austin in. She knew it was on the main floor and that the nurse mentioned it was near the bathrooms, but she had it to find it. Only when she was seconds from turning around to go back and ask, she overhead the nurse say Austin's name from a room just down the hall.

"You're doing great, Austin," she encouraged. "Really well."

She didn't hear him respond. She inched closer to the room, still keeping her anonymity and waited to hear what he said. She was shocked to hear him gasp and cry out in pain. Ally recoiled like she had watched it happen.

"Was that painful?"

"Yes," he spat out, not angrily but more so because of some sort of pain, she assumed. "Oh man." He took a deep, shaky breath. "Is that a good sign?"

The nurse hummed, "Well, a lot of paraplegics I know feel pain and discomfort but it doesn't always mean that it is a sign that they'll recover some of their lost mobility no," she stated, "If I'm being honest with you, and I know you want that. But this early on, feeling it during physio, I would say it doesn't necessarily mean the opposite either. You're in for a long road to recovery either way, Austin. Your injury has been not determined yet as complete or incomplete. The swelling in your spinal cord has not gone down enough."

Ally swallowed hard, ignoring the feeling those words gave her. How terrible.

He just sighed. "Great."

She announced her presence then and while the nurse looked delighted, Austin did not. He was on the floor, the wheelchair to the side and she was gingerly moving his amputated limb up and down for range of motion, she assumed. She'd seen her father do it a time or two when she got stuck at the hospital as a kid. The other leg was firmly on the floor, looking angry and painful.

"Great timing, Ally! I am stretching Austin right now. It is part of his physical therapy. It is both used to keep muscles in tact and hopefully in time, to help him regain some range of motion."

She nodded shortly. "And he will?"

Austin seemed surprised by her question and the nurse answered, "It's too early to tell that right now, unfortunately. Austin's injury is still too new for the doctors to give definite answers. But we're hopeful. Right, Austin?"

Austin looked at her from the floor and there was something in her eyes that latched on, if only for a second. "Yeah, we are."

Ally watched the session continue for the next fifteen minutes and she could tell by his expression he was in a lot of pain, but was keeping it in for the sake of her presence. She remained at a distance, not sure she wanted to be any closer. The nasty scars and bruises on his full leg stared back at her and she wondered what had happened to him to make him become in that condition. She supposed she could ask, but she would probably get a rude, sarcastic answer in return and she didn't want to deal with that. So when the nurse announced they were done for the day, and helped Austin back into his chair, she simply followed beside him to the elevator, where he wordlessly hit the up button and waited. She noticed in those seconds he was gripping the wheelchair with one hand so tightly that the skin in his fingers was going pure white.

Out of pure worry, she asked, "Are you still in pain?"

He glared up at her, "What do you care?"

She was taken back by the direct fire of a response and immediately shut her lips and left him be. They went into the elevator wordlessly and went to his room where they stopped short.

"I want to be alone," he stated curtly.

Ally furrowed her eyebrows at him, "It's a little past noon! I have to be here until three. You can't just tell me to leave."

"I can and I will," he stated a second time and wheeled himself to the room. She watched as he went over to the window, staring out at the view. Ally refused his request and walked in after him, picking up her 'huge designer bag' and looking at the file. Would it state what happened to him in detail, or was that kind of thing only told through verbal message? Ally was too enthralled with that notion to notice him coming back over.

"What?" she asked when he looked at her.

"Why are you still here?" he demanded.

Ally rolled her eyes, "Because as much as you're being a dick to me, I have to be here in order to get into medical school and I really don't want my father to hate me." She smiled sweetly down at him. "So don't think it has anything to do with you. I would have been out that door five minutes ago if otherwise."

He seemed disappointed by her answer and wheeled over to the bed, ready to seemingly climb into it himself. Ally stayed back a moment, knowing that he couldn't possibly have the upper body strength to do that, especially not with the severe injury in his lower extremities so recent. Finally, she sighed, "Before you go and die, let me help you. I do not want to explain to the nurses why I was the only intern whose patient died on their watch."

"That's so _heartwarming_ ," he snapped. "Brought a tear to my eye."

"You're a miserable person," she muttered as she helped him into bed.

He turned away from her best he could, "Well, at least I have a _reason_ to be."

"He was by far the most miserable person I have ever met, yet he had the nerve to call me miserable!" Ally sat on Trish's bed later that afternoon, still reeling from her first day as an intern at the rehab facility. "I don't even know what I did! I mean, yeah, I probably should've known who I was meeting before I walked in there, but to assume that I should or was made aware is also wrong!" She was upset for more than one reason, and she couldn't figure out why.

"Was he a jerk the moment you walked in?" Trish asked.

She thought back, "He was nice when the nurse was there, but then he started making snarky and rude comments. When we were around others, he was nice. It was really weird. And when he was at his physical therapy session, he looked almost… I don't know different."

The Latina girl beside her nodded, "That would make sense. He was most vulnerable then, wasn't he? You saw him at a point where he had no control."

She agreed, "I guess you're right. I don't know. This is going to be a miserable few weeks. Maybe he is right."

"You're not miserable," she muttered. "But he does have a point. He's obviously been thrown an ordeal, so he probably isn't having that many great days. You figure he is your age, so he probably just graduated and now he's sitting in an hospital bed, figuring if he even gets his motion back in his legs, he's going to have to learn to walk without one of them. That sucks, Ally. You cannot even fathom how that would feel, would you?"

She tried to think of a scenario where she could have a similar thought process, and she knew deep down, that she couldn't. But it didn't excuse him being rude. "I just want this to go fast and smoothly, and I can't do that if he's arguing with me all the time."

"Alright, so what do you think he likes?"

"I don't know," she responded. "He liked playing board games earlier, but I don't think that's his life passion or anything." The other girl rolled her eyes. "You're saying I should find out and do something based off that?"

She nodded her head. "Find a common ground. I highly doubt he has a shoe collection or enjoys shopping on weekends with his friends, but I'm sure you two have something in common." The smaller girl made a gentle face, reminding her, "You might feel out of place, but I'm sure this world is more than new, too. There is something sometimes you lack Ally and I love you, but a little empathy can go a long, long way."

Ally finally stuck her tongue out at someone that day.

In turn, she was thrown off the bed.

The two girls laughed for nearly five minutes, before Ally realized she was going to be late for her date with Cooper. The small brunette rushed off from her friend's house, running home to quickly hop in the shower and change into something a little more sexy. The doorbell was ringing by the time she barreled down the stairs, and she met her dirty blond haired boyfriend with a smile, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Hey baby," he cooed into her ear. "How was your first day at that intern crap?"

She groaned, "Way too long and way too much to explain. I just want to go out to dinner and get something strong to drink." She purred into his ear. "Think you can do that?"

He flicked his green eyes her direction, "Oh yeah, I know I can."

The two of them were seated at a seaside restaurant about a half hour later. The couple quickly ordered drinks with fake IDs and began to hum over the menu for some sort of delicious option to try. Ally settled on a seafood salad while Cooper went for some surf and turf. All in all, she was just glad to have a drink in front of her.

"I want to head away one weekend this summer," Cooper suggested a few minutes into their meal, which she found delicious. "Your internship is only on weekdays, so if we left on a Friday night and came back on a Sunday, we could have some fun and not interfere… what do you think?"

The word yes escaped her mouth without second thought. "That would be perfect," she gushed. "Where did you have in mind?"

"Maybe we'll go up to somewhere in North Carolina, maybe another beach. I know that seems kind of stupid when we live on a beach, but sometimes you just need a change of scenery, you know?"

She nodded eagerly. "Sounds wonderful. Let me know when you have the details."

They finished their meal with little more to say, but Ally could stare at him all night long. She really was staring to enjoy her boyfriend. He was going to law school (he was a year older than her), and while she already decided how their life together was going to go, she knew both of them had long schooling ahead of them. It would be worth it though. He was so passionate about learning the law and he often spoke in detail about whatever he learned that week. Even in the summer, he was taking two classes just to stay ahead and was usually unavailable in the daytime himself. The internship worked out well in that regard.

Soon enough, they were sitting in front of her house, making out since no one was home, and Ally sighed in content. The day had started out a little off, and got worse as it went on, but ended well. She could not ask for more than that.

"You make me really happy," Cooper whispered into her ear.

"You make me happy too," she murmured back. "But I do have to get in. I can't be late for this dumb internship. They'll throw me to the sharks."

He chuckled and gave her one last kiss before she ran into her house, closing the door behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

**You guys are awesome. Thank you for all the kind words. I am slowly getting to where I'd like to be in the story, and I think you guys will like what is to come. That said, this chapter includes some details from a police report page. I am not as familiar with this kind of thing as I'd like to be, nor am I an expert on medical aspects of this story, though I do a lot of research. Please take this into consideration while reading that part of the chapter. I do not mean to offend anyone.**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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Sun shined Tuesday morning when she woke up and stretched for her second day at the facility. She only hoped it would go somewhat better than the day before. Trish's words about empathy came to mind and she stared at the file that had remained unopened in her bag, wondering if she had the nerve to read through it further and find out more about what happened to the blond inside that building. It almost felt as if she was being intrusive into his life.

She exited the house and drove the short distance to the public hospital building and walked inside, seeing not too many patients out yet that morning, and no interns that she recognized. She greeted the nurse who was working with Austin the day before and headed for the elevator, ready to try and at least be civil with him that day.

She passed Jake's room on the way and waved at him with a smile and hoped that was a good sign. Once on the second floor, she made her way to the corner of the hallway and knocked on his door. She realized he was still asleep, and wondered if she should come back. Then, instead she heard Trish's voice in her head again. Empathy… what could she do to show she understood he was in a bad place and she felt something because of that?

There wasn't much in the hospital room and it looked a bit bleak. Maybe she could start with that. She found nurse Wendy by the information desk on the second floor and explained her plan. She didn't know what he liked, but remembered that he spoke about lakes at one point yesterday. She was open to suggestion, and the Nurse made a point, "Well, you can't exactly do that in one day. Maybe you should enlist the help of the other interns and do it as a surprise. Find out what he enjoys. I think he would really like that. He doesn't get many visitors here."

That didn't surprise her. He seemed like a jerk, but she played into it anyway. "Really?"

The woman smiled sadly, "No. His parents come a lot." She chuckled. "But no one else. There was a girl who came once but she never came back. Actually, I don't think she even went into his room—stopped outside of it and then ran off. I didn't get a chance to ask."

"That sounds kind of sad," she admitted.

The Nurse nodded. "Its tough when your patients struggle and you can't do more than your job, Ally. I think you'll come to see that in time. But when you can make a difference, you do it because it can do more than put a smile on someone's face here." She chuckled and whispered for her to come in closer, "I used to tattoo people back in the day while going through nursing school. It somehow got out to the patients. A couple weeks back, Jake had me drawn in sharpie a tattoo on his amputated leg. They wouldn't have approved of it if they found out, but it made him very happy. It washed off before anyone could notice—and I made his day. See what I mean?"

She nodded her head. Nurse Wendy knew empathy, and she knew it well. She was only seconds from asking her what happened to Austin when a beeping noise went off, and the nurse smiled. "Speaking of Austin. He's requesting my presence. Seems that sleeping beauty has awoken. Care to come with me?"

She shrugged her shoulders and followed after the young nurse, who entered the room first. She saw Austin from the corner of her eye, looking uncomfortable and sweaty. It only took a second for the Nurse to realize something was off, and Austin only whimpered when she asked what was wrong.

Ally had never seen him like that before, though she didn't have much experience. She pulled back his blanket and somehow, the bruised leg looked even worse. The nurse cursed and looked up at Austin who bleakly stared at her. "Ally, come here. I want to show you something before I start to deal with this." She motioned her forward and Ally hoped that Austin was out of it enough not to notice her presence. She pointed to the dressing on his leg and gently peeled it off. It was a disgusting color, and seemed angry, and red.

"What do you think?"

She once got a really bad cut on her leg when riding her bike as a kid. The cut ended up getting infected, and if she could remember correctly, it looked like a much smaller version of this. She nodded her thoughts first, and then said, "I think it looks infected. Would you give him antibiotics then?"

"He is already on an antibiotic for this kind of thing," she admitted. "So now we must go back and look at how strong they were and what we could change. That said, we do not have the authority to do this, so we will emergency page his doctor and give him the information. If you excuse me, I will be right back after I do that. Keep him company, will you?"

She felt as if she had been just tossed a grenade, but Austin was in too much pain to really care, it seemed. He was sweating profusely from the top of his head, and the best he could, he was shifting his upper body. "Can I do anything?" she asked with worry, hating the whimpering sounds that came from his mouth.

He eyed her wearily and then shrugged, "I dunno." His words sounded like there was something inside of his mouth. He moaned again. Her hands went to his forehead and she was alarmed at how hot he felt.

"Do you want some water?" she asked.

He nodded weakly.

She walked over to the sink in his bathroom and found a cup in there. She filled it a bit and then handed him the cup, which he drank slowly. It didn't seem to help all that much, but it did make her feel better. It was an antagonizing few minutes for them both before Nurse Wendy came back in with news. "His doctor is prescribing a much stronger antibiotic and a pain medication as well. He doesn't feel the pain that he's in from the waist down, but there are other sensations that are radiating through his body, so it will treat both." She showed her how she would update his chart, and then directly entered the antibiotics into his bloodstream, as well as the pain killer.

"It'll knock him out within minutes," the nurse laughed, "So don't be shocked if you turn your back and he's out. It's a good thing. He needs rest."

She nodded. "What should I do then?"

"Why don't you get started on that decoration project of yours?"

It should not have surprised her that Cassidy and Jake were all too eager to help her with this project. Jake even knew some things that Austin liked (music, movies, etc.) and gave her some fantastic ideas to start. The best by far was bringing in a DVD collection. Upon discovering that he would be there possibly longer than six weeks, Jake had practically begged her to bring in some of the best movies around.

The debate to which movies were the best around soon commenced.

Ally was quick to list Titanic, in which Jake scoffed and Cassidy shoved his shoulder. They seemed to be getting along great. Others chipped in, suggesting classics and some more up to date choices. She was quickly typing as many as she could into her phone, wondering if they could even set up a DVD player to that ancient TV in his room.

"I can't just bring DVDs. That isn't decoration," she said after about a half hour. She looked at Jake, whose room was decked out with space themed things. Apparently, he enjoyed the universe in many, many ways.

Cassidy pointed out maybe she should just bring in some stuff from her house.

She pretended to list that but secretly pushed it far away from her mind. He wouldn't care for anything in her room.

"I say get some cool stuff from a cheap store and just make it fun," Jake demanded.

Too bad she had no idea what fun really meant.

"Well, I think that's enough thinking for one day," she muttered after there was a considerable silence. The clock said it was nearly noon and she figured she should go and check on her patient. Wendy had asked her to come back in a somewhat timely matter, as she wanted to go over some details with the girl. Apparently, each intern answered to a nurse, and hers happened to be Wendy. It was sort of perfect.

The upstairs was quiet, a lot of rooms dark with sleeping patients. Ally hoped that the pain that Austin was in had subsided, though she was not looking forward to another three hours in that room with him. Wendy found her first, asking how the planning went. She told her it was a work in process, which it truly was, and asked if Austin was awake yet.

"He was briefly. I got him to eat a little bit and then he dozed off again," she admitted. "It can be rough on the body the first few weeks."

"What should I do?" she asked.

Wendy gave her a tiny smile, "Austin admitted that you didn't read his file yesterday to me after you left." She placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and Ally briefly wondered if he'd said anything else. She'd yet to be told she was terribly rude to a disabled teenager, so she figured she was probably safe. "Maybe you should adequately look into it and understand more about what has happened to him. It'll help not only in this process, but probably in your friendship."

So Ally did just that and walked into his room and sat in the corner, watching him sleep for a minute or two before pulling the file out from her bag. It seemed wrong to be reading it in his room, but also reading it elsewhere felt like she was also showcasing what should be a private thing.

The beginning was much like she remembered, stating the obvious injuries, including his amputation and the paraplegia. Then, it got back into the details of the night the injuries occurred, and Ally felt herself feeling sicker as she continued to read.

The medical report itself was hard to understand, despite what she did know from her parents. She turned the page a couple times, finding what seemed to be detailed notes from an officer on the scene and later at the hospital.

 _From Police Report…_

 _Teens were en route to friend's home when swerving into opposite lane. Collided with large SUV and flipped, going over the barrier and into a large ditch, where in the force of the process was stopped via a tree. Moon (18) was thrust from the passenger seat of the vehicle and found about 10 feet away from the wreckage. Passenger Wade had stumbled out of wreckage by the time first responders were at the scene._

 _Blood alcohol levels read 1.7 when tested at hospital._

 _Wade (also 18) sustained minimal injuries while Moon went immediately into surgery in attempt to save damaged left leg. The doctors then determined that the leg was beyond repair and with parent's approval, was amputated. Doctors stabilized his right leg and repaired other less severe injuries (including separated shoulder, several deep lacerations, and a concussion)._

 _Moon woke the next morning and SCI was discovered. Hopeful for increased mobility but doctors are stating that currently he is considered a paraplegic. Fluid, pressure, and swelling present in scans that are attached. It is not yet clear how long it will take for a proper diagnosis to aid in his recovery._

There were further notes given by a doctor that Ally recognized as one of her father's colleagues and it detailed the report that the officer had put into laymen's terms. Her mouth closed at the thought of waking up and realizing you no longer had use of your legs. It didn't occur to her that he had no idea that it had happened until then, but it would make sense. The report otherwise gave little details to the actual crash, which she was most curious about, but the medical notes made her sick to her stomach, so she closed the report and shook her head.

She was startled by his voice, "Enough to give you nightmares, right?"

Austin was looking at her from the bed, bleary eyed with a wry smile. Seemed ironic that he could even joke about what had only recently happened to him.

"I'm sorry," she said after carefully choosing her words, still a bit taken back by the ordeal.

"That's it?"

She immediately returned to her defense. What did he mean 'that's it'? Did he want her to come to his beside and sob with him or something? It was a terrible thing to happen, but she didn't have much else to say. She didn't know him; she couldn't understand where he was coming from. She knew enough to not push it further.

But then he said, "Really."

Not a question, more so a challenge.

She fired back, "You were drinking! You can't expect me to feel completely sorry for you."

He snorted, "Yeah, because getting into a car drunk makes it alright for me to end up in a wheelchair for rest of my life."

"Yes," she stated, angry at how ridiculous it sounded. "It makes you an incredibly selfish person to put the lives of others on the road at risk because you were foolish enough to drink and drive. Most people know better than that." She stuck up her nose and he just snorted. "And who says that you'll even be in a wheelchair the rest of your life?" she demanded, throwing a look to the door in case they had garnered an audience. Thankfully, the nurses seemed to make themselves scarce unless they were needed. "I do believe your nurse said yesterday that the extent of the damage can't be seen yet."

He rolled his eyes, looking toward the window. She noticed how distracted he seemed in those moments, and she wondered briefly if she should back off. He had started this argument though and if he wanted to be a jerk, she could too.

"Well, I'm not feeling all the well fantastic about my prognosis right now, so thanks."

A normal person would've came to his bedside, pleaded with him to remember that there was still hope. She was annoyed by him and his comments, not understanding where exactly he was coming from. Why did he bother her so much? Glancing toward his bed, he had his head completely turned from her, as if looking at the brunette caused him physical pain.

After a moment, he stated, "Look, clearly you're only doing this for whatever credit you get from being here," he said darkly. "So if you stay out of my way and I stay out of yours, we'll fake whatever fucking rainbow conversation we need to have and I'll make sure I don't tell the nurses what a miserable, angry bitch you are, and in turn, you can hop off to med school in the fall and we'll never have to think about each other again." He turned back to her with a twisted, angry smile. Seemed ironic that he came from a religious family when his mouth was so vulgarly spoken. It took all she had in her not to make a comment about that. He broke her thoughts, "Deal?"

She could agree to that. "Fine by me."

"Great."


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for your reviews. I love to read your thoughts and theories, and I truly appreciate any input. Being a writer often means you're challenged by your own thoughts, especially when you have a thought process in place and you want to perfect something. When you post a piece you've been working on and no one throws metaphorical tomatoes at you, it's a good day. (Though, if they're not rotten, I do like tomatoes. But on sandwiches. With bacon. I digress...) Anyway, I'm quite proud of this chapter. I channeled a character that I loved from TV here for one tiny scene-though this character was never cruel or mean by any means. I just liked how she and another character first met. She was actually quite a badass (DarkScribe, I'm looking at you for this one. Kitten heels-ring a bell?). Anyway, it's one of my favorite chapters I've written so far because of the ending. I like making characters human-meaning, they have flaws. They can cringe-worthy. I don't shy away from that kind of thing. Because it exists in real life.**

 **ANYWAY,**

 **I'll be quiet now. ;)**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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He didn't remember the first few days following the accident. Apparently, he was in and out of consciousness, giving all around him quite the scare. It felt weird to float even when awake, the conversations going on around him seemingly there, but unattainable to his own senses. When he finally did join the world again with full awareness, he just felt heavy.

The doctors told him it was a blessing that he didn't feel half of the pain his body was trying (and failing) to recover from. Sure, his upper body was sore and bruised, but it was manageable. Everything else felt… fine. He thought maybe he'd been lucky. Then the doctor asked him to move his legs and when the group surrounding him frowned as if in sync, he knew something had been wrong.

They don't warn you like in the movies. He discovered he was an amputee by glancing down where his left leg used to be and seeing nothing but sheet. Then, of course doctors jumped in and explained that they had tried their best to save it, but his parents decided to make that choice for him. He wasn't angry at them for that. After all, if there was no saving it, why bother and try?

Still, he couldn't figure out why his right leg looked so mauled, yet he couldn't feel a thing.

Austin sustained many tests, poking, and prodding following the revelation that he couldn't feel his right leg that he felt more exhausted than he knew possible. Poke here, prod there— _is there a difference in the way this feels,_ _Austin_ _? I know this is scary, but do you feel anything when we do this?_ Every time, the answer was no. He was severely alarmed, but they assumed him it was normal. _Normal_ _?_ He wanted to laugh. Normal. Yeah, normal was antagonizing pain following being ejected from a vehicle (so he was told) and hitting a tree. Thank _you, random tree for damaging my spine._

 _I'll send you a thank you note as soon as I'm good to go._

His parents hadn't appreciated that humor. His mother even sobbed.

She'd been doing a lot of that lately.

A part of him wanted to admit to the conversation he heard several nights ago and said, "Well, at least you don't have to worry about prom anymore." He figured it wouldn't have been appreciated. Still, humor was his only way of ignoring the absolute crushing feeling that came with what he was going through. When he was conscious, they were escorting him to tests and giving him more medications than he could remember. His blood pressure was all over the place. His fevers kept returning—he might have an infection—oh no, the catheter he might be allergic too. Could he just go back to sleep for a while?

Soon though, he'd recovered enough that they moved him out of intensive care and into a normal room. His mother stopped crying long enough to tell him how proud she was of him (Why?) and his father just held his bible and looked at him. From a distance.

No one else came through, and when he first asked about Dez, his parents exchanged a look and sighed. He thought he might've died and when he brought himself into such a panic attack that the doctors came rushing into loud beeping, they finally told him that no, he was fine. Only a few minor scratches. There was something they weren't telling him, but he pushed it away. There was only so much he could take anyway.

Two weeks into his recovery, the doctors started talking about rehab. He had yet to move his right leg, or anything below his chest for that matter. He had a feeling it was there to stay, despite everyone saying otherwise. Austin used to be an optimistic person, but this was weighing on him. The doctors thought they had poker faces, but they were just as readable as everyone else. Tiny frowns still meant bad news.

Still, leaving the hospital was a sure sign things had to be looking up. The rehab center looked old, but in decent condition and there were some really nice nurses there. He still had yet to see anyone that he loved and knew so well other than his parents, but he figured his parents were keeping them away until he was stronger. It seemed safe that way. His father had been requesting prayers at the church and asking for everyone to keep a watchful eye on their own children. He was a lesson, one to learn from. _Don't_ be Austin Moon.

His mother didn't say much once he was in the rehab facility, usually just walked around, fixing imaginary things and muttering to herself. He wondered how much their insurance covered of his medical bills. Was he even more a burden than before?

So many thoughts pressured him at all hours of the day that he was most intrigued when a nurse that was named Wendy walked in and inquired if he'd be interested in a buddy program. Apparently, soon to be med school students needed a certain amount of volunteer hours to qualify for schooling. They needed to learn basics while promoting good communication skills, and all the other jargon included with becoming an adult, basically. It sounded interesting enough, and with his lack of friends coming into visit, he figured a friend would be fantastic. Besides, every time he asked any adults for information these days, they kind of just shrugged him off.

Then he met Ally Dawson.

He watched he walk into his hospital rehab room with a look on her face that could leave small children and possibly adults running. Actually, she had delicate features, just hardened with too much make up and designer sunglasses. Her hair was a dark brown, practically curled perfectly while her manicured fingers flicked the sunglasses off with expertise. She practically tossed a tote bag onto his wheelchair with such a force that he probably would've jumped if he wasn't on such a high anti-spasm medication and oh yeah—if he had function of his lower body.

Then, she smiled as the nurse introduced them. It was sweet, oddly. She seemed nice enough. She remained at the doorway with caution all through her body, and he got that. Just because she was soon to be a med student didn't mean that a guy with one leg didn't scare her. Especially when he was probably going to be paralyzed for the rest of his life. Give her a minute, he told himself. She'll warm up.

Except, she was awful. Like totally out of the movies awful with the worst attitude he'd ever seen. He was on so many pain medications and other crap that he didn't have the patience for it, either. He expected a friend, someone who might distract him from the crap he'd been dealing with (like the third surgery on his 'good' leg in two weeks), and while he liked Jake from down the hall, he talked a little too much. He didn't let her act like the spoiled girl she clearly was, and it seemed to bother her.

A part of Austin wondered if she ever got told no in her life.

Being from such a working class family, and going to a public school where most of the people were in similar situations, it wasn't often he saw how the upper part of Miami lived. He knew there were gated communities north of his suburb, where filthy rich people boasted to their neighbors about ridiculous, unnecessary things. Still, he doubted everyone was as shallow as others had imagined, but Ally seemed to want to prove stereotypes true.

He tried for a bit. He figured if it was him, he might be a bit hard to manage following something like this. It seemed like it was worth it, after all. To have someone. He didn't understand why Dez and Piper hadn't come to see him yet, especially them out of anyone. He asked his mother about Piper the night before last, and she just smiled sadly and said, "She's trying, Austin. Give her time."

What the hell did that mean? He didn't like how impatient this situation was making him, how short tempered. When he asked her what that meant, his father just peeked up from whatever he was reading and muttered, "Pray, Austin. Pray."

He didn't know where to even start.

So, when she came back the next day, Austin saw her reading his file. It made him think that maybe she wasn't so terrible and they could work this out. He knew just how well Jake and his intern were getting along (Jake had shared that Cassidy might be his future wife—even as a joke, he suspected the feelings might be mutual) and was envious of it. Jake struggled much like he did, and he knew if he worked at it, he could get them there. But after a long morning (thank you to his body for producing yet another infection— _you're doing a great job_ ) he thought he'd just try.

And then he realized he couldn't stand her. He knew nothing about her—literally nothing since she didn't share much about herself at all in the few hours they were together the day before and right then, but he couldn't stand her. And he made her a deal, one he was going to follow, at least until he was out of the rehab facility and back in his own house, where he could see his real friends, and get back to his life.

But the damn girl kept coming back. Not that he ever suspected it was because of him.

The third day of their seemingly unworkable pairing, he was in a good mood. He'd worked through physical therapy quite early (if you wanted to call his other favorite nurse, Emilia stretching him physical therapy, then yeah, it was) and had been told by his mother that his girlfriend would be visiting that afternoon. It seemed like the day could only continue to better itself, then rainstorm Ally walked into the door.

In heels. _Kitten heels_ , but he digressed.

"It's raining outside," he deadpanned, seeing her dressed as if she was heading to a party, not volunteering at a rehab facility. "Isn't that the wrong outfit?"

"Are you a fashion designer?" she shot back, clearly offended. She tore off her sunglasses and dropped both her bag and phone on the nearby counter, seemingly preoccupied by his lighting fixtures in the room to give more effort to the answer.

"They let you wear that?" he demanded again, secretly enjoying how much he clearly annoyed her.

She walked right past his bed, looking at the windows this time. He was going to ask, before she huffed slightly and sat in the chair farthest from him. In the time she'd sat down, she had managed to grab his bedside file and was reading through it.

"They have decreased your pain medication," she noted.

Austin just stared at her. "Yeah. I guess so."

She peered up from the clipboard, giving him a briefly quizzical look before going back to ignoring him, humming to herself. Austin sighed, unsure what that even meant, and went back to watching the rain pour outside. It had been nearly a month since the accident date (which the majority of he couldn't remember—maybe that was a good thing) and he hadn't been outside in just as long. A part of him ached to smell the sweet air of an ocean breeze, but another more reasonable part of him knew just how far off that would be.

"What are you sighing about?"

Coldly stated, he didn't humor her. "Life."

Oddly, it earned him a smile. She looked like plagued by torture when she did. "It's raining," she agreed, following his gaze to the window. "And?"

"And I miss the rain."

"How do you miss the rain?"

"Why are you so talkative today?"

She didn't like the question, gave him a dirty look, and then stuck up her chin. He noticed she did this when she was offended, and silently smiled at the triumph.

"I haven't been outside in almost a month," he added after a moment of silence. "I miss how it feels to have a real breeze hit my skin. Or feel the sun on my body. That kind of thing."

"It's _wonderful_."

He couldn't help but smile at her sarcasm, "Is my file that interesting today?"

"I'm trying to learn," she responded.

He shrugged that off, then looked to the wheelchair that was near the door, oddly enough in the same spot it was last time. He wondered if she put a conscious effort into not dropping her bag on it, or if it just happened to miss the torment that day. After a moment, he made a decision. "Can you bring my wheelchair over here?"

She glanced up from the clipboard, eyeing it from where she sat. Then, wordlessly, she got up and brought it over to the bed. Austin knew she wouldn't go out of her way to help him, but was glad to see her bend over to put the wheel locks into place. He was more surprised when she placed the clipboard back on the edge of the bed, and offered him assistance.

He enjoyed telling her no, that he needed to practice this himself.

Ally didn't say a word as he tried his hardest to maneuver his wrecked body from the bed, into the chair. It took more effort than he wanted to admit, but he did it on his own. It exhausted him.

"You good?"

"Yes," he responded, glancing back out the window. Then, with a determined smile, he began to wheel himself out of the room and toward the elevator.

"Where are you going?"

With a short turn, he gave her an even bigger, and actually genuine grin. "Outside."

She looked more than perplexed, maybe a bit shocked. "But it's raining!"

"I know!"

"I don't want to go out in the rain! I'm wearing my new heels!"

Austin just laughed, "No one said you had to come!"

Yet, he heard the clicking of those damn kitten heels follow him all the way to the elevator.

He could've made a break for it, at least that's what he told himself when he rolled past all the nurses and other staff, right to the doors. Ally followed wordlessly behind him and only once he was outside, in the beginning of the parking lot did he hear her stop, and under the awning of the building, see her look panicked at him from the door.

"What are you doing?"

"Are you deaf?" he questioned with amused eyes. "I'm going outside."

"It's raining," she reminded.

He laughed and wheeled himself further into it, feeling small specks of rain tap on his shoulders and trickle down his hairline. "It's warm," he added after a second, sticking his head toward the sky so he could feel it on his face. The air was thick and humid, typical for summer in Miami but it felt so, so good. Ally just stared at him as if he was absolutely insane, then glanced behind her as if she couldn't possibly be the only one watching the so-called madness.

As he ventured further into the parking lot, she inched forward. Maybe she figured if he got run over, she would be held responsible, or perhaps his boldness intrigued her. For the first time in weeks, he felt more like himself, more alive… maybe even okay. There were a lot of long days, painful days, and confusion. But being outside, in the real world, if only an inch or two of it… it seemed manageable.

"Are you going to join me?" He knew what he said to her only a day's previous. But he wanted to see just how far he could make her come out. Especially if she ruined those stupid heels she was wearing, or got that perfectly pressed skirt wet. He was soaked now, the rain pouring down on him, in typical flash storm fashion. What was the worst that could happen to him? It wasn't like the chair was electrical and he'd go up in smoke.

Ally just shook her head in bewilderment. "I'll get wet!"

A great ploy came to mind, and he nodded eagerly, "Yes! That's my plan. I hear when you get the wicked witch of the west wet, she melts!"

And then, the same smile he remembered from the moment they met two days ago came back. It started slowly, like a crack in a windshield, then spread across her face. A tiny giggle escaped her lips, only until she realized it was an insult. So her arms crossed and she attempted to scowl, but her lips betrayed her, poking upwards despite her attempts to prove otherwise. And Austin just grinned back at her, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he could survive the six weeks with her, and that he wouldn't hate it either.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for your reviews. I am so sorry for the lack of updates - but I was in the hospital (apparently if an ear infection gets bad enough, it can get into your bone... I have never felt pain like that in my life, let me just tell you) for a while and then have been dealing with problems associated with the ear infection, but if all goes well, I should have my life back to normal by this weekend. Being in the hospital gave me unfortunate but good insight on some particular aspects of this story. Anyway, thank you all for your patience, and for those who also read TIOOM, I will be updating that as soon as I have the ability to write. :)**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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Ally left that afternoon and as much as he hoped that one smile would lead to a breakthrough in her hard and rude exterior, it was short lived. A nurse finally noticed they were outside, and when she demanded answers, Ally flat out said she advised against him doing this and made him out to be a child. Once inside, she was rude as ever, unless Cassidy and Jake were around. Still, they made it through the afternoon with only minor jabs and the majority spent ignoring each other. Ally went back to whatever seemed so interesting about his room, and he stared out the window and wished for his world to grow back to the size it was only weeks previous.

When she left, he felt relieved but also alone. The unfriendly nurse who often replaced Nurse Wendy on several afternoons came in and demanded certain tests from him, and he tried not to cringe when she jabbed a needle into his arm without warning. She left, and Austin patiently waited for his family to show up as the sky started to cast pinks and yellows through it's universe. After all, they were bringing Piper with them! And he'd missed her so, so much.

Soon five pm faded into six, and he wondered if maybe they forgot about him.

But, then his mother showed up, alone.

She had take out in her hands, his favorite local burger joint, and he rejoiced for little victories.

"Piper?" he questioned after a mouthful of burger, earning a proper glare from his mother—he was glad that some things didn't change.

"She got stuck at church, sweetheart," she told him, ruffling his hair while she fixed his pillows and made herself busy.

He sighed, starting to wonder if she didn't want to see him. "Am I doing something wrong?" he asked after a moment.

His mother sighed heavily, sitting beside him. "I think she's scared, sweetie."

"Why?"

His mother glanced briefly at his lower body and just smiled sadly. "It takes time."

"Tell her I miss her?" he pleaded, closing his eyes so he could picture her happy face. "That I'm still me. And that I really, really …" he trailed off, not sure what to say. "Just tell her I've been asking about her. Maybe she can answer my texts." He hated saying the same thing every day, and getting the same result. He decided to try for his other counterpart. "And what about Dez?"

His mother's eyes darkened and that alarmed him. "I don't think you should be seeing Dez."

"Why is that?"

She grew to look bitter. "Because I don't think he's paid for the sins in which he's inflicted upon others."

"What?"

His mother's calm, sweet exterior returned and she pretended she never heard his question. "Well," she stated brightly. "Tomorrow is another day, and I think it's going to be a busy one. I know I wasn't here long tonight, but I will come back tomorrow afternoon. Sleep well, Austin. I'm sure you have a lot to do."

 **From the Ground Up**

"I didn't see anything we could use to clip decorations from," Ally stated as she and Trish walked down the aisles of Party City with Cassidy, armed with a credit card, and overeager friends. Better yet, she had no idea what she was looking for, but the other two girls (who had become fast friends) had other ideas.

"We need to make it look like Miami," Cassidy had exclaimed when Ally admitted that Austin seemed to miss the outdoors, and real life. "We grab beach stuff! Just things to make it seem more like home."

"We don't know what home looks like," she reminded.

Trish rolled her eyes, "We know you're not creative. It's okay. Let us do the work."

Ally pouted as the two girls cackled beside her, only one half knowing how much of a struggle her 'friendship' with Austin had turned out to be thus far. After his demand the other day to not kill each other practically, she had thought she could survive the summer. Still thinking about the word empathy when he was around, it was harder than she thought not to just tell him to go away.

"How about this?" Cassidy held up a giant inflatable beach ball and grinned.

Trish nodded, "Oh yeah!"

By the time they left, Ally had placed nearly one hundred dollars on her credit card, and the girls were each carrying a bag filled to the brim. They had stopped before this at another store in hopes to find decent DVDs, and even considered bringing in some things that made a room a home. Ally picked up a few things upon the request of her friends, but stopped when she saw a bright yellow lava lamp in the corner of a department store and couldn't help but think it screamed the blond guy she just met.

They didn't say a word about it, but it ended up in the cart.

When they got back to her house, the party of girls were exhausted, an retreated to the pool with iced teas and pool floats.

"I think we've succeeded in the first part of the task," Cassidy grinned. "I think he's going to love it."

"You are going to head in while he's in physical therapy tomorrow, right?" Trish worried. "It'll only be as nice as the surprise."

"Yes," she mumbled begrudgingly. Austin was set with early appointments for the majority of the week, meaning if they wanted to decorate his room, it needed to be done before her volunteer schedule started. "You both are still helping me, right?"

"Yes," Trish agreed, while Cassidy gave her a thumbs up.

Ally looked up at the sky, the same one that had been pouring rain only hours ago. From where she sat on her pool raft, she wondered if Austin was watching too.

The next morning, the girls who had slept over, woke Ally with giant grins and the same overeager attitude from the day before. She dragged herself out of bed, wondering just how close a cup of coffee was, while they chatted with so much excitement she couldn't understand. A part of her didn't even want to decorate his room after the rant he'd pulled two days before. They were on route to the rehab facility within the hour, and she tuned their quick happiness out of her head while she drove.

At the facility, she was relieved to see Austin was already out of his room and out of sight. The girls got to work, casting the beach balls and other beach related items in appropriate places, while Ally worked on setting up a small bookshelf with DVDs on them that everyone swore would be the best part yet. They'd tapped out with just under five dozen DVDs, with suggestions from it seemed just about every person she knew. It was fun to discover that everyone really did have a different favorite movie.

Finally, the last part of the plan was put into action. Cassidy apparently made great virgin daiquiris and with the permission of the facility staff was conquering up the best she could offer. By the time they were told Austin was on his way back up, everything was set and the girls barreled into the bathroom, and somehow, even Ally couldn't contain her excitement.

Austin wheeled himself back into the room seconds later, and she heard him mutter something under his breath. It wasn't quite recognizable, and with the girls hiding in a dark bathroom, she knew they had to reveal more than just their work. With a flick of a light switch, she gave way to their location and Austin whirled around with a look of pure amazement and appreciation on his face.

"What is this?"

Ally came forward first, trying to be as nice and empathic as she could.

"Home," Cassidy said before she could answer, grinning ear to ear. "Well, it's not _home_ ," she muttered, giving him a slightly less happy smile. "But we wanted to make your room brighter. It's hard enough going through this kind of thing, but with a room like that, you're practically going to go insane."

He seemed so taken back by the action that he couldn't form words.

Then, before anyone could say anything further, a young blonde girl walked into the room.

 **From the Ground Up**

Austin was so taken back by the gesture of decorating his room that he couldn't find the words he wanted to say. He was close—thank you would have to do until he found better ones, but then the girls lost their attention from him and glanced at the doorway. More shock filled his senses as Piper stood before him, looking as if she might jet out given any sort of chance.

A smile spread quickly across his features and something almost clicked seeing her.

"Pip," he murmured. "Hey."

Ally and the others stepped forward then, sensing they should probably leave, though he noticed that Ally hovered, if only for a second. Then, in a blur of body spray and lots of hair, the three were gone. Piper hadn't moved from the doorway, still hadn't said anything. She was staring at his leg, or lack thereof, with a look of mild horror on her face.

"Piper?"

She glanced up at him and her eyes welled with tears. Before he knew it, she was full on sobbing before him, covering her mouth with her hands to stop the heaving that her chest was doing. Still, she didn't move any closer to him. Actually, when he inched forward with the chair, she backed up.

"Piper?" he asked more desperately, knowing how bad his 'good' leg looked. "It's worse than it looks. I swear. Hey, can you look at me? Stop crying. It's okay."

He felt weird comforting her when it should be the other way around, but she looked so freaked out that he'd do anything to stop the terrible noises escaping her lips. She trembled in the frame of the doorway, somehow managing to make it back there. Austin was desperate for this visit to work out, for her to understand that he loved her and that he was still Austin—he was still Austin, wasn't he?

Piper stopped full on sobbing and reduced herself to blubbering silently. "Oh God," she whispered. "Oh God."

He never heard her say God. She was one of those who said gosh. She often even corrected him when he slipped up, or worse. Something inside of him cracked at this and he realized in those seconds, nothing he said would comfort her. Austin Moon was no longer the guy she once knew. Austin Moon wasn't even the guy he once knew.

He wanted something to change in those seconds.

"I'm still me," he said in an act of final desperation, hope that maybe it wasn't about to end the way he thought it might—but then she stumbled backward a final time and ran out, leaving him dumbfounded and hurt in the middle of the hospital room. It was silent for a few seconds, the only sound of the air conditioner running and casual conversation coming from down the hall.

He didn't move until he was sure she was out of earshot and then punched the wheelchair as hard as he could, a small yelp of both pain and anguish showing the verbal signs of what he'd secretly been thinking for weeks on end. Piper couldn't handle what happened—she didn't want to know or deal with someone like what he had become.

Then, another shadow filled the doorway, and he hoped for a second he was wrong, and was even more mortified to see Ally standing there, a genuine look of concern on her face.

He wanted to tell her to go away, or something even worse as he felt the tears prick at his eyes.

Instead, he just stared back at her.

With nothing better, or worthwhile to say, she gave him a sad smile, "I told you it was pretty disgusting to look at."

Oddly, it made him feel better.

She didn't say anything when she walked into the room after that, just sat in that corner chair and stared out the window. Austin had so much he wanted to say—maybe not to her, but to someone, anyone to get out what Piper's runaway had just done to him. Instead, he just shimmied over to the bed, locked the wheels into place, and climbed inside.

Then, he looked at all the decorations, admiring how stupid yet perfect they were.

That's when he saw the lava lamp at his beside, shooting up balls of molten whatever from the bottom, to the top, and back again. It moved slowly, but with rhythm and he was enthralled by it. After a second, he said without thought, "Yellow is my favorite color."

There was a silence.

"I liked it," she said simply, and the silence returned.

Austin watched the lava lamp for some time, before his eyes grew heavy and he fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you for your reviews. Thank you for all the kind words for myself, too. I know it's been a little bit since I posted, but I wanted to get ahead again in the story before I tried updating. I'm about three chapters ahead, so I feel safe enough to post this. I really, really like this chapter because I think it shows some interesting progress in Austin and Ally's relationship, but also gives headway for speed bumps that are to arise, too. You don't think just because Ally gave Austin a pretty sweet lava lamp that all is going to be well, do you? Nope. Sorry, we're only a few chapters in. Most of you should know I'm not that nice. ;) Hehe. That said, I love watching chapters grow and evolve and I think others can appreciate that, too. :)**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ally wanted to think what she said to Austin was just the truth. His injury was disgusting to look at – but watching that blonde girl run from the room like some sort of child infuriated her and she couldn't place why. It also made her feel something toward him she hadn't yet—this so called empathy, maybe even sadness. Hearing him cry out from the hallway sent chills down her spine and while she wasn't ready to start singing about rainbows and bake cupcakes with him, she wanted him to be aware that what the girl did was not right.

Besides, it only took a minute or so to figure out why Ally thought she looked familiar. She was the girl who stole her dress back at the boutique in the mall about a month ago. She automatically was on Ally's bad side, one you didn't want to get on.

Watching him sleep for a few minutes—the first time he looked peaceful all day—Ally couldn't take it anymore. She hated this feeling, the feeling of helplessness and anger, and charged out of the room and down the stairs. Perhaps it felt like an hour, but the clock said it'd only been fifteen minutes since the scene with his girlfriend, and she knew if she sat in there any longer, she might go actually mad.

What she didn't expect was to find the blonde girl sitting on a bench outside the rehab facility, knees to her chest with wide, tear-stained eyes. Ally didn't feel sorry for her. She'd feel sorry for her if she was up in that room, watching her boyfriend sleep. No. She wanted to strangle the pretty porcelain-skinned doll with her bare hands.

Piper didn't see her yet—she was hidden by an overgrown bush and silently, she was thankful for that. Ally needed to check her anger before she did something she would regret.

Then, a snap of a tree branch gave her position away and Piper looked up in alarm.

As if she didn't notice Ally in the room earlier, her eyes rolled. "If you're stalking me over that dress, you can have it. I don't need it anymore."

Ally snorted, "That dress has been out of style for two weeks, not that you'd ever know that."

The blonde sniffled. "Then what the heck do you want?"

Heck. _How cute_. Ally shook her head, "Aren't you curious to why I'm here?"

"Quite frankly, no. I don't know you—and I've had a really bad morning so in case you want to start some sort of cat fight out here on the pavement, here's my answer: go away."

"He's had more bad mornings than you have had in the last few weeks," she countered without second thought.

Piper looked at her, "What?"

She crossed her arms, shaking her head. "Your boyfriend, dumbass. The boyfriend who clearly loves your pathetic, knock-off wearing, bad hair dye job sporting disaster in which you are." She stepped closer, giving her a look she knew would send most girls running out of fear. She was good at it, and she noticed Piper retreat a bit on the seat—she gave the girl credit, she didn't flat out leave. "I don't care for him too much myself, but even I wouldn't pull what you just did."

"Go away."

"Maybe you should go back in there and grow a pair. Be there for him. He needs someone."

She didn't answer.

"Pathetic," she muttered, knowing it was a lost cause, but then she heard her shuffle on the bench.

Piper turned her confusion into a rage-driven retort, "You don't know me. You don't know anything about me." She pointed a finger. "And you definitely don't know anything about me and him."

"I don't have to," she replied easily. "People like you are a dime a dozen, sweetheart." She glanced down at her cross, which she'd started to rub the moment Ally began speaking to her. "You hold onto your religion like some sort of life jacket when I'm pretty sure you are committing a sin. You are supposed to love someone in sickness or in health." She twisted her head to the side, and then laughed coldly. "Much like most of the church, I'd assume. Preach and preach about being a good person when in reality, you're no better than the rest of us." Ally gave her one last sickening smile. "At least I'm aware of who I am."

That got her going and Piper stood up, stumbling the distance between them so that they were eye to eye.

"What are you going to do?" Ally teased.

Piper just glared, "You have no right to come over here and say these things to me. I repeat: you don't know me. You don't know Austin, either. I don't know who the heck you are, or how you suddenly know my boyfriend, but I am asking you nicely to go away now, before you regret it."

Ally laughed, "Or _what_? You're going to _hit_ me? _Insult_ me?"

Before Piper could get another word in, a minivan pulled up beside them. A woman who resembled her rolled the window down and obliviously waved at Ally like she knew her, telling Piper to hurry, she was going to be late for a job interview. With one last (frightened) glare, Piper turned her back and walked to the car, leaving Ally with a pleased smile on her face.

 **From the Ground Up**

In his nightmares, one of two things happened since the accident. The first was that he awoke at the scene of the accident and found Dez, dead in a pool of his own blood. He sometimes would find him only minutes before he died, and watched him choke to death before him before he could do anything to help. He often wondered if this had anything to do with Dez's absence in his life following the accident, but somehow, even despite him not being there, he hated and felt gutted by watching his best friend suffer.

The other nightmare was worse in a different way. He sometimes felt awake in these nightmares… and he was fine. He had both of his legs, and they worked like they were supposed to. He could run, jump, and do any sort of physical activity he dreamed of without pain, fear, or spasm. Nurse Wendy said these kinds of nightmares would happen the rest of his life… they would start out innocent enough, where he was running for sport, or swimming in a pool, and then he would suddenly look down and notice he was injured.

It didn't make it any easier, especially when he woke up the morning after Piper walked out screaming, only to see Ally in the corner of the room in that damn chair, staring at him like he was a wild man. He didn't have enough energy to say a word, only shifted the bed covers around him, glancing at the clock. Somehow, the nurses let him sleep in until nearly eleven am. He was pretty sure he had a therapy appointment that morning.

As if she read his mind, Ally finally spoke, "Your physical therapist stopped by about a half hour ago. She said she would reschedule your appointment for later. You looked peaceful."

He wanted to laugh at the irony.

There was a brief pause.

"Are you alright?"

Austin's eyes narrowed at how nice she was being. Dressed today much more sensibly than the other morning, Ally sat there in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt with an unreadable look on her face. Her hair was even tucked away in a ponytail, and her make up was to a minimum. It was all he had in him not to ask with a grin if she was on her period.

Instead, he just shrugged. "I guess."

She didn't elude to any further assistance.

Austin sat there for a few minutes following this, feeling uncomfortable in more ways than one. His throat hurt from screaming himself awake, his body ached from laying in the same uncomfortable position, and he was pretty sure the spasm in his leg was getting worse—and since the doctors had noticed that he could feel this burning pain in his amputated leg, it seemed as if the pain was unbearable. He could only explain it as if someone was putting a fire on your leg and letting it sit there, minus the actual burns.

Finally, Ally made a frustrated noise. "You're sweating and look like you're constipated. Should I get a nurse?"

Austin bit back surprise at how well she was reading symptoms he hadn't even noticed. He didn't have an answer for her, but she took it upon herself to walk over to his bed and gently pull back the blanket to expose his injuries. While he felt the burning, the sudden gush of what he assumed would be cool air went unnoticed to his lower extremities.

"What are you doing?"

"I said you were sweating," she repeated. "You cannot regulate your lower body temperature anymore, so I am trying to do that for you."

"How did you learn that?" he couldn't help but ask. It was probably the first medical-related thing he'd heard her say, and he couldn't hide the impressed tone that came out.

"I have been reading your file," she said, walking over to the sink and rinsing a towel with the cold water. "Here. Put this on your forehead. I'd like to see if I can get it under control before I have to call a nurse." Then, she sat down in the chair nearest his bed. "And I've been doing research online."

"Why?"

Ally bit her lower lip, as if admitting this pained her, "I wanted to understand more." She glanced at the door and then added, "Cassidy seems to know a lot about Jake's condition and I do not want to look like an idiot in front of her."

He huffed out a laugh, a wry smile breaking out on his lips. He should've known. There was no interest in him; he just didn't want to be out done by the pretty strawberry blonde a few rooms down. "Figures."

Her eyes narrowed, "What does that mean?"

He figured he probably shouldn't start a fight—especially when she had been right. With the cool compress on his head now, he could feel the itching of his skin disappear, and even the spasms seemed to calm down somewhat, but he was pretty sure he was on a regulated medicine for that, so maybe that was why. Ally had just saved him a half hour of poking and prodding by one of the nurses.

"Nothing. Nevermind."

They sat in silence again, Ally satisfied by his answer enough to not argue back.

Then, when he felt more human, he shrugged his shoulders a bit and asked, "Can you grab the chair?"

"Sure."

Ally walked back over, wordlessly locking it into place and offering her arm to help him into a sitting position. He thought following the accident that he was strong enough in his upper body to have the strength to pull himself around, but Austin discovered that more of his upper body strength was greatly supplemented by a strong set of abs and lower body muscles. Without them, he was only as strong as probably Ally. He didn't like asking for help, but he was not yet there most days to transfer himself from bed to chair as of yet.

Ally, much to his surprise, put her arm on his shoulder and got herself into a position so that she could help him ease over. A part of him knew that she had witnessed the physical therapy nurse transfer him into the chair a couple times, and was aware just how tender and fragile his 'good' leg was despite the inability to feel it. She was careful to maneuver him and herself in a way that didn't put any unnecessary pressure on it.

He would've thanked her, but he didn't want to give her too much satisfaction.

"Where are you going?" she asked, unlocking the wheels.

He shrugged, "Dunno yet."

"It's sunny today," she called after him, and he smiled when he was sure she couldn't see him.

"And?"

"I thought maybe you were going to make another run for it," she deadpanned.

He pointed down to his useless legs, "Can't exactly do that, can I?"

She laughed, only stopping herself when she realized that she had.

Austin spun his wheels back around, smirking to himself. He let her catch up to him as the neared the elevator, and then he admitted that he did have a plan, "I am going to find Jake and I am going to ask the nurses very nicely to go outside so that I can enjoy the sun for a bit. I hear there is a physical therapy set up out back and I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

She didn't answer, but followed along. They met up with Cassidy and Jake near the doors, and the nurses okayed the outing as long as Cassidy and Ally were with them, and keeping a careful eye. He wondered what that exactly meant—did people really try to escape the rehab facility, or were they worried for their wellbeing in an area that was not really as handicap proof as they liked?

This was especially true for the worn, cracked sidewalk. It had many dips and jets in it, making it especially hard to wheel himself through the area and to the backyard. Even Jake struggled with using his crutches in the right place. Austin hit a particularly bad patch of pavement and he jutted forward, grabbing onto the chair to balance himself last second. Ally didn't say a word, but chatted with Cassidy, who he noticed out of the corner of his eye was watching him.

There was a brief silence in the girl's conversation before Cassidy blurted, "Austin, would you like me to push you?"

Ally stopped when this was said, and he couldn't help but be relieved by the gesture. It was harder than it looked to keep yourself balanced (without his ab muscles or lower body muscles, keeping himself upright was becoming a challenge) and push the chair at the same time. He didn't like admitting that he needed help, but falling out of the chair and onto the hard ground didn't exactly sound like fun, either.

"That would be great, thank you," he said quietly, and he swore he saw Cassidy shot Ally a look of annoyance as she started walking again.

She placed a hand on his shoulder before starting to push him through the bumpy tertian. Finally, they made it to the back area of the facility, seeing different equipment that could be used for various trauma related injuries. There was also a section for outdoor picnic dining, and instead of going toward the equipment, the group went there.

Jake looked more than relieved to sit down and rest. His face had gotten red and blotchy from the execution of also keeping himself upright. Cassidy seemed like a nurse type, Austin soon realized, as she immediately pulled a bottle of water out of a bag and gave it to him, removing the crutches so that he could be more comfortable. Looking at Ally, he noticed that she seemed almost uneasy. How could two girls that couldn't be more different be going into the same profession?

"How was physical therapy this morning?" Jake asked him, breaking a silence that they'd acquired.

He shrugged, "Apparently slept through it."

"Wait, they let you?" Jake whined. "They never let me do that."

He offered him a tiny smile, more preoccupied by how distant Ally seemed, even for her stuck-up self. He wanted to make a comment about it, but he didn't want to risk an argument in front of Cassidy or Jake. They had no idea just how rough their relationship really was.

"This sun feels amazing," he said instead, leaning his head back so that he could feel the warm southern sun on his face. He missed the lake. He missed it so, so much.

"I could use a nice sun tanning day myself," Cassidy agreed and he bit back a laugh. She was pale as could be and littered with freckles—how could the girl even tan?

"I tan, thank you very much," she laughed, giving him a look.

"Did I say that out loud?" he laughed as well. "Oops."

"Very unkind of you, Mr. Moon," she teased.

Austin grinned back, "It's the brain injury. Makes me a bit loopy."

"The one you were born with, I assume?" she immediately retorted. "Because I do believe your brain is quite fine otherwise."

"Ooh, low blow," Jake crowed. He glanced at Ally. "You okay over there, Ally? Seem a bit distracted."

She glanced up from picking at her nails, giving him a weak smile. "Just tired."

"Yeah?" he said. He grinned ear to ear at her, not picking up on how rude she could really be. "Me too. But I crutch-raced one of the other guys across the hallway earlier. Might be why I am."

She gave him another weak smile and he wanted to snort. She could at least pretend to care. "What are we doing for lunch?" Cassidy asked. "I'm starving."

Jake poked her, "You're always starving!"

The two bickered for a moment like they knew each other longer than four days, and a part of Austin was envious. Then, before he could process his jealousy any further, Ally peered up with a gentle smile this time, "I could go get us some fast food. Greasy cheeseburger, maybe? I think that can solve a lot of the world's problems."

Cassidy's eyes widened, "Oh my God, yes."

"You sound like you just had an orgasm," Jake snorted at her. "Good Lord."

The two continued to bicker as Ally gathered her things, having made an agreement seconds before to get them food. There was a brief pause, and then Austin stated, "Hey, can you get me a milkshake too please? I'd love a chocolate one."

He was surprised when she smiled genuinely at him and nodded. "Chocolate is my favorite, too."

Time went slowly, especially when you were stuck in a wheelchair watching two lovebirds flirt like children. Cassidy was much more professional than Jake, as she was working but when he made a comment, she didn't hide her responses by any means. About ten minutes after Ally left, Austin felt the pain returning in his lower leg. Without the IVs he was attached to in the morning, there was not a constant flow of different medications coursing through his body. He didn't want to bother either of them though, and figured he'd wait for Ally to get back.

It took another antagonizing twenty minutes, and by then the pain was so bad that he was digging his nails into the cushioned part of his chair so that he didn't alert his friends. It seemed like common sense to let them know there was something wrong, but they were so happy with each other, he didn't want to be a burden.

Then, Ally walked back over, holding several decorated paper bags and nearly dropped them when she saw his expression, and a part of him felt stupid.

 **From the Ground Up**

Ally couldn't stand how happy Jake and Cassidy seemed with each other, especially when she'd been more than civil with Austin all morning to get a very recluse, almost polite response from him back. It only made her feel worse when she neglected to notice Austin struggle along the sidewalk and have Cassidy offer assistance instead. But like she told Austin that morning, she had been doing research the night before (three pages of notes—detailed notes, thank you) and was trying to understand his condition, perhaps more for selfish reasons but still to help him, too.

That's when she saw how pale he was-holding bags of soggy, grease-filled food-and how clammy his skin looked from a distance. She all but jogged the rest of the way over, dropped the food in front of her friends and for once was as professional and calm with him as she could be.

"What is wrong?"

It seemed to alarm him that she realized, but she was relieved when he didn't lie, "I am in agony," he whispered quietly. "It's my leg—damned thing feels like it's going to burn itself off."

Ally stood back up and she saw Jake give a curious, also worried glance in his direction. She caught his gaze and she nodded once, as if to say _I'm aware, don't worry._ She then glanced back toward the front of the rehab facility, knowing it was quite a distance away and that the bumpy ride back might irritate his dysfunctional body further.

"Do you want me to go get a nurse?" she whispered.

He contemplated his options.

"Or I can wheel you back inside, but they're going to know something is wrong then. If a nurse comes out and pretends you're late for medication, no one will make a fuss."

He appreciated that and then he nodded. "Yeah."

"Alright." She dusted off her sweatpants and forced a smile. "Sorry guys. I forgot something in my car. Be right back."

With a final look in Austin's direction (God, how could someone pale that bad?) she ran off and practically flew all the way to the second floor where she explained the situation to Wendy. Wendy cursed and shook her head, and a part of Ally wondered if this morning's issues never really went away, were only masked for some time. She saw the nurse grab a few things out of locked containers as well as some other unfamiliar items to her and usher her to follow.

Together, they walked back outside and made it seem like they were chatting. Ally was appreciative of how Wendy made it seem like she'd forgotten something and gently pushed him a distance away. Ally watched for a second, but then sat down, opening her bag of now cold fries and damp cheeseburger, which she ate wordlessly until Wendy pushed Austin back. He was still deathly pale and his amputated leg was spasming, but he didn't seem as much in pain. Whatever she gave him seemed to work quick.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

He shook his head, "Sorry. Not after that."

She came forward, reaching to where she'd laid the drinks in a hurry. "The milkshake might be a better option."

There was a brief pause and he smiled at her, "Chocolate always is."


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for your reviews. I start back up with classes in less than a week - so updates might be a little less often. That said, I am still actively working on this story (or trying to, that is - sometimes the muse likes to take it's own vacation...) and my other ones. :) Please know how much I appreciate your feedback and love what you have to say. You guys make writing all the more awesome.**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ally was infuriating. How could someone go from being almost human to the biggest jerk in the world all in a few hours flat? After the pain in his leg subsided completely and the group went back inside, he insisted that they watch one of the movies that she'd put in his room. He said since they were all 'new' to him, he got to pick the first one. Ally was appalled by his choice in that of a horror movie.

"That's gross! And gory," she complained.

He didn't want to admit that it would be nice to focus on someone else's pain and torture for a while, but simply smiled and put the movie on. He would've preferred if she whined and complained the entire movie, but she didn't. In fact, she sat there on her phone like she couldn't be bothered, and at one point, even made a phone call to her best friend and laughed—so loud that he lost track of one of the best scenes in the film.

Finally, he paused the DVD player and Ally glanced up from whatever she was doing on the phone.

"What?" she demanded.

He pointed to the TV, "You agreed to watch a movie with me earlier."

"Yeah, a good movie. Not that shitshow that you call a movie."

"It's my room," he defended. "Why can't I pick the movie and you just shut up?"

"Why couldn't you have picked a damn movie we both liked?"

He couldn't help the anger rising inside of him and without thinking he spat, "Because you're too busy being a stuck-up bitch most of the time for me to know a single thing about you—how could I possibly choose a movie you like when you've been nothing but god-awful to me the last four days?" He didn't stop there. "I saw your jealousy today, Ally. I saw how you looked at Cassidy and Jake and I think there is a part of you that wants that. I think you're mad because for some reason, you would rather make someone else absolutely miserable instead of try and make this work—even when you do, you're still only doing these things for you!"

She just stared at him. He turned off the movie and raised his bed, the anger now coursing through him, probably soon enough raising his blood pressure high enough that the nurses would come in.

He gave her a mock smile, "Newsflash, Ally. Cassidy isn't like you. She's got a heart. She wants to be here because she wants to make a difference—she feels passion in her heart for this kind of thing. You? You just obviously want to sit in that damn chair as far away from me as possible and count the days down until you can run out that damn door just like fucking Piper!"

She didn't say a word back to him, but stood up.

With an unreadable expression on her face, she stormed out of the room.

Austin wanted nothing to do with physical therapy later that afternoon, but his nurse came and found him anyway. She had him on the floor, gently pulling his leg up and down, while also working on different exercises with him to build upper body strength. He didn't have the energy for it anymore—he felt lightheaded, borderline nauseous, but the nurse stated that was all normal, especially since his body was all out of whack.

"Another nurse told me you're experiencing burning sensations in your legs," she said after a particularly bad bout of pain coursed through his body.

"Yeah, its recent. One or two days ago," he admitted. "I am scheduled for a CT scan tomorrow afternoon at the hospital. I hope that means that they'll have more answers to how my spinal cord looks. I don't understand why it takes so long for the swelling to go down," he muttered.

The nurse smiled, "Well, our bodies are odd things, Austin. Besides, you are still fighting off an infection, right? They changed your antibiotic the other morning from augmentin to cipro, so, that'll help somewhat too with your water pill."

He had no idea what the millions of medications they were pumping him with did, but he nodded anyway. "Hopefully."

"You're doing good, Austin. I know it's not an easy battle," she told him, helping him into a sitting position. He ignored how the room spun around him and closed his eyes. "Once your good leg heals a bit more, we'll get to working on more physio stuff. Even with the possibility of a complete injury, there is still room for improvement. You are at the start of this very scary journey. I promise you it'll get better."

Austin smiled at her, wanting to believe her.

Life had other plans.

 **From the Ground Up**

Ally sat in the pool with Trish that night, enraged but also hurt. All that Austin said to her back in the hospital room was repeating in her head loudly and she hated every word of it. Trish spent the last hour telling her that he was wrong and they just had to work out differences, but she was only minutes from calling up the facility and demanding to be paired with someone else, or begging for that matter. He hated her. She didn't really care all that much for him—even learning didn't seem to impress him, so what did he want?

"You're missing the point," Trish said, and Ally realized she said that out loud.

"He doesn't care about that," she added.

"How would you know?"

Trish smiled, shifting on the raft so that she was on her back. "You said he wanted to watch a movie and you didn't want to watch the one he picked."

"It was a dumb slasher film," she defended. "I didn't put it there—Jake did!"

"So?" Trish looked at her. "It wasn't your choice. He asked you to sit there and watch a movie with him. It's probably one of the few things that get his mind off things, and clearly, he was appreciative of what we did with the DVD player. Instead, you spent the entire time talking to me on your phone. You could've tried."

"I didn't like the movie."

Trish grinned at her, "Well, he doesn't like you. So, you have something in common."

"Trish," she whined.

The Latina girl laughed, "I'm kidding! You know what I mean. You only get back as much effort as you put in. If you want something to change with him, you have to do it not only for yourself, but for him. I'm pretty sure he's not unlikable, Ally. In fact, even in those few minutes I was in there the other day, he seemed quite nice. Just try. Put away your phone, go in there and do something for him. It's not about you. He's right about that."

Ally rubbed her face, "He's judging me without knowing me."

"I bring back what he said… you never gave him a chance to know you. How can he if you're constantly pushing him away?"

"Ugh," she groaned. "I hate when you're right."

"Show him the Ally beneath all the brought up walls," she encouraged her. "I know you—I know past your attitude and all that you do to make people think you're scary." She gave her a wiggling eyebrow. "I remember what 14-year-old Ally looked like, and how _different_ she was. Stop acting like you're some terrifying model person, when in reality, I know how kind you can be deep down when you stop pretending to be terrible."

She hadn't been that person in years. She didn't even know if she still existed anymore.

Trish gave her another smile. "You're a lovely person, Ally. And I'm not just saying that, either. Show him that girl."

And so, with a pep talk under her belt from Trish, she decided she would go back in tomorrow and pray that he'd let her apologize.

Friday was their last day together through the weekend. Ally was grateful for this—as if this talk this morning went bad, she had all weekend to worry and hope that he was transferred somewhere else and she was reassigned. Trish texted her an encouraging message bright and early, and she set off for her volunteer job with hopes that maybe Trish was right.

She got upstairs a little after nine (timing was not her friend) and saw that once again, Austin was still asleep. The sun shined into his window and she pulled the curtains back so that the sun could remind him it was a beautiful, new day. Then, she heard him groan, "Piper?"

She made a face, wondering if she should go along with it for the sake of keeping peace.

"No, it's Ally."

He didn't say anything.

"Look, I want to apologize and I hope that—"

"Can you get me a drink of water?"

His mouth sounded garbled, so she obliged, hoping that this would cast her a few minutes time so that she could properly convey her apology. Carefully, she walked over to the bed, and pulled back the sheets a bit, noticing that again he was sweating. Ally bit down on her lip—it had been a month since his injury (she'd gone over his file with a fine-tooth comb so to speak last night), shouldn't they have this kind of thing in check already?

"Austin? Do you want to sit up?"

He mumbled something under his breath, and she waited for him to do it. When he made no effort to attempt it himself, she placed the water on the counter beside him and carefully placed her hand under his lower back, and then one under his neck so that she could support him upward enough so that the bed did rest of the work.

He murmured under his breath, "Your hands are cold…"

"Sorry," she apologized. "The water was cold. I can't help it."

Together, they got the bed into a sitting position and she wondered why he was still so groggy. He took small sips of the water and Ally leaned back away from the bed, doing a mental check on everything else about him. He wasn't having a bad morning spasm wise; in fact, they seemed quite in check. His bruising on his 'good' leg even seemed a bit brighter. She couldn't gauge much else from that and waited for him to say something. Something told her to hold off on continuing her apology.

"Are you okay?" she finally said after five minutes, his feverish skin looking worse instead of better. "Austin?"

He murmured something that she couldn't understand.

"Austin?"

"Not now, Piper," she made out.

Ally frowned, "Austin, I'm not Piper. It's Ally. I'm the volunteer intern, remember?"

Something was wrong.

Before Ally could even step out of the room, Austin made the most inhumane, awkward sound she ever heard, and his body contorted on the bed—his entire body. Then, she realized as his body began to shake and tremble—he was having a seizure. It took all of seconds for alarms on his bed to go off, and Ally knew nurses would be coming. In the meantime, she knew enough to try and get him on his side but otherwise not get in the way.

When Nurse Wendy came running in, her eyes widened in shock, "What happened?"

Ally quickly explained the morning to the nurse and several others while they kept their distance—she remembered briefly in a previous situation in school that you were not to disturb someone having a seizure, that it could actually make them worse.

Still, it was antagonizing to watch, and she closed her eyes as the minute ticked on. Finally, after a long five minutes, his body slackened on the bed and the nurses surrounded him and began checking all his necessary machines. Ally hung back, curious but scared, still knowing she had to watch for the educational purposes. Despite the seizure ending, Austin had not woken yet.

"I think we should give him some space," Wendy said. "We cannot do much as a team right now until he can tell us more." She eyed the other nurses. "I'll call you guys if I need you."

They left the room and Ally stepped a few inches closer, "Is he alright?" 

"I hope so," she said, her voice laced with worry. "We do not know what caused this yet. It is not common for this to pop up out of nowhere—if it was part of his condition he would've experienced this already. I'm worried that it might be an interaction of sorts."

"Interaction?"

Wendy nodded, "Something that is not agreeing with his body."

Then, Austin stirred, "Whoa… what… what…"

"Shh," Wendy whispered, "Take it easy, Austin. You're okay. You just had a seizure. How do you feel?"

He glanced at her with weary eyes, as if he couldn't focus. Ally hung back, not wanting to be seen as of yet. "Sick…"

"What does that mean Austin? You feel sick? Sick as in how?"

He made a motion with his hand, which seemed weakened by the seizure. It landed on his stomach. For some reason, this went over Wendy's head. "I need you to use words…"

Ally understood, "I think you need to get a waste bin," she said quickly. "I think he means he's going to be sick."

Austin's gaze flickered over to her briefly while Wendy sprang into action, grabbing a nearby bin and bringing it over to him. With Ally's help they got him to his side just in time for Ally to be proved right. Austin lost the contents of his stomach into the bin harshly, and Ally kept one hand on his shoulder while Nurse Wendy spoke comfort words to him. Unlike the Nurse, she was just trying to not get sick herself.

He groaned and released more from his stomach and Ally cringed, trying to keep her grip on him tight, as he had very little control over his upper body below his shoulders. After a minute or two, he nodded his head and Ally eased him back onto the sheets. Nurse Wendy hummed something and took the waste bin out of the room, leaving it in the hallway for a second while she could continue her study of him.

"How do you feel otherwise, Austin? Still nauseous I'm sure, but do you feel light headed, seeing spots, or sore?"

He nodded, "All of that…"

Wendy took his file off the back of the bed and began to look through it. She stared at it in silence for nearly five minutes before tapping it with one of her manicured fingers. "Austin, have you ever had the antibiotic cipro before? You were on augmentin before this but your doctor suggested the cipro as a change so that your body did not become immune to certain ones."

He shrugged, "I dunno."

Wendy clicked her fingers to the board. "I bet that is it. You're showing signs of a cipro allergy. I can't be sure by just saying so, but I am going to call your doctor and look over the report further with him. In the meantime, we'll cut the antibiotic IV and switch it back to augmentin for the day, see if we see any improvements." She glanced at Ally. "I have to make a few phone calls and update his chart… keep an eye on him and let me know if anything changes."

Ally nodded as she didn't know what else to do, and watched the woman exit the room. From behind, she could feel Austin's eyes on her. Slowly, she turned to face him.

He just stared at her, clearly too exhausted to say anything, but his eyes, now clearing from the ordeal, said it all. He remembered yesterday and she was not forgiven.

So, she sat in the chair nearest his bed and sighed.

"I think we need to start over."


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you for your reviews. Honestly, I don't have much to say before this chapter. :) I am really excited for the chapter I'm currently working on, though. It's definitely going to be a fun one.**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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He didn't say anything to Ally in response to this, just closed his eyes and swallowed. Her nerves were shot following the ordeal they both just experienced, and she did not know how to go forward if he was not speaking to her. Then, she decided it was time to be an adult, and make the first move.

"I've been a jerk to you, I get that," she said quietly, eyeing his reaction carefully. "I know that. I'm sorry for it. I don't know what to say otherwise. I'm trying to be better—I really have been researching your injury because I want to help you improve." Ally watched as he shifted his shoulders a bit and then sighed. "I know you've had a rough morning, so if you just want to rest, I'll go make myself busy elsewhere and we can talk about this later. I don't want to bother you."

Austin's eyes finally opened and he looked at her briefly before glancing outside.

"Stay."

She wasn't sure how to take the single word response, but sat down in the chair next to his bed, watching him stare outside the window for some time.

Then, she took initiative and spoke again, "I mean what I'm saying, Austin. I want this to start over. I hope that you'll give me another chance." She closed her eyes. "I mean, I'm not going to pretend that I'm someone else—I am me and I am not sorry for being me—but I have Trish for a best friend and somehow over the last few years she's become my moral compass and she reminded me of something last night."

He didn't answer.

"Are you feeling any better?"

He glanced at her. "A little."

"Can I get you anything?"

He was looking at the lava lamp now, watching it move up and down with a slow rhythm that relaxed her nerves. "I don't think so. I'm just really worn out."

"It looked exhausting," she admitted. "Scary, too."

He nodded. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know."

"You called me Piper before."

That got his attention.

"You kept calling me Piper before it happened. I corrected you, but I don't think you were really in the right mindset to actually hear me." There was a brief pause, and Ally listened to the machines beep and hiss next to him, and she took solace in how rhythmic everything seemed to be. "I'm sorry for how that all unfolded too."

"She's not a terrible person," he murmured. "I understand."

Ally snorted, "She's a dress stealer."

His eyebrows rose and she realized what she just said. "What?"

"About a month back, I ran into her obviously not knowing who she was at a dress boutique. She and I walked up to the same dress at the same time and she would not give it to me. She kept saying how she wanted to make her boyfriend happy that night."

His smile was short. "Was it a black dress?"

"Yes," she admitted. "With a deep neckline and straps."

His eyes darkened, "That was what she wore the night of my accident."

Ally swallowed hard, picturing Piper standing somewhere in a hospital in the simple, but pretty dress while her boyfriend fought for his life. There were notes in the file that said he almost hadn't made it from loss of blood. "Do you remember it?"

"The accident?"

She nodded.

"Not really. I remember before it, but the actual accident was fuzzy." He sighed. "My best friend won't talk to me either. My parents won't tell me why—but I get a weird vibe from them."

"What kind of weird vibe?"

"That they're hiding something from me." He glanced at her. "They keep talking about how he needs to pay for his sins and that he needed to pray. Dez isn't really religious, so I don't see how that would help this situation any." He glanced from her to his legs and sighed, "Or how it's going to help me now."

"Isn't the power of prayer supposedly powerful?"

Austin nodded, "Yeah. You're not religious, I take it?"

"No," she smiled curtly. "I come from two doctors. They see everything from a scientific standpoint." She took a deep breath. "My father especially doesn't care for religion and I guess that wore off on me. He got tired of patients saying they didn't need medicine for a condition, that God would heal them with his power."

"That sounds familiar," he laughed. "I think God likes to hand us the tools we need to get through things. He doesn't just fix them. Life would be too easy."

She shrugged, "Like I said, I'm not religious. I don't really believe in any of that stuff."

He shrugged too, "It helps, I guess. It doesn't make the whole thing with my friends and girlfriend any easier though."

Ally hummed at the thought of his so-called best friend and girlfriend. How could anyone just leave their friend in a time of need like this? She couldn't imagine not talking to Trish if she got hurt, or not being there. Seemed like there was something missing, like he said. "Maybe your parents know something that you don't."

"Like what?"

She shrugged, "Being that you survived being a passenger in his car while he got only scratches, it would seem maybe they feel like he should have gotten hurt."

"Wait, what?"

"Did you read your own police report?" she teased. "I'm just going off that."

"Dez doesn't drive yet," Austin immediately countered. "He wouldn't have driven without his license."

"Are you sure? You said yourself that you don't remember much about the accident, and you both were pretty drunk."

Austin looked straight ahead, as if the TV was on with furrowed brows. He obviously didn't have an answer for her, but he just sighed. "Alright. I need to get out of this bed. I don't care how tired I am anymore. It's like it's some sort of jail cell and I refuse to let any idea consume me."

"Where do you want to go?"

Austin seemed panicked by his own thoughts now, pulling back the covers far enough to expose his injured lower body. The bruises got better by the day, but they only showed the obvious injuries. They didn't show his damaged spine, or the other pain that came with that kind of injury. "I don't know. I just need to get out of here."

"Out of here?" she repeated as she motioned to the general area, looking at the rehab hallways. "What if they'd let you?"

He stopped mid shuffle to his wheelchair, which she'd dragged over to the bedside. "What do you mean?"

Ally shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe they'd let me take you out of here."

"Probably not," he muttered. "You're an intern; they don't want to take the chance that my body will fail or you'll screw up."

"I wouldn't screw up!"

He raised an eyebrow, "I would have bet money two days ago you would've _pushed_ me out of my chair for your own amusement."

She pretended to consider this. "Okay. _Maybe_. But that was two days ago!"

He huffed, "Ha!" Then, he glanced at the doorway as Nurse Wendy walked by. Ally grinned ear to ear at the look of her, and then put up her hand. "Where are you going?"

"To remind her of something she told me," she chirped. "Be right back."

Ally found Nurse Wendy at the main station area, and she started to plead her case. She told her how Austin seemed to feel trapped in the building and that there were other things bothering him as well. They didn't need to go far—maybe only down the street and back even—but he needed to get out. She was more than annoyed when Wendy shook her head no.

"Not today," she apologized. "Ally, he just has a grand mal seizure and while his doctor and I are quite sure we know the cause of it now, we still need to monitor him for at least the next twenty four hours. I understand where you're coming from, and I'm not saying no. I'm saying a few days later. Take him outside where we're only a few feet away, not a drive. Respect that, please."

She sighed, oddly disappointed but did respect what the Nurse said. She glumly walked back into his room and told him. He seemed disappointed too. "I thought with how pushy and rude you are that she would've automatically said yes out of fear."

"Excuse _me_?" she couldn't hide her retort.

He grinned, the color finally returning to his face for the first time all morning, "You have spent the last four days making my life miserable, whether it was your true intention or not. I think I have five free digs at you now. I am taking my first one."

"What kind of thought process did you get that from?" she demanded, helping him into the chair. They would have to deal with sitting outside in the heat for a bit, instead of driving. "I don't see how that makes sense."

He shrugged his shoulders, "I mean, you can argue it, Ally. I'm sure people will listen to the rich girl instead of the sad looking boy in the wheelchair."

She huffed, resisting the urge to fling said chair down the hallway at an excessive speed. But, she couldn't help but smile as he started to wheel himself down the hallway. Somehow, being around Austin Moon in the last few hours didn't seem as unbearable as before.

 **From the Ground Up**

Austin probably should've stayed in bed following the hellish morning he had, but with Ally's promise to start over and the genuine vibe he got from it, sitting in bed feeling sorry for himself seemed less and less appealing. Unfortunately for him, Nurse Wendy did not let them break out (even for a few hours), so he was following her to the same place they were yesterday, the picnic area behind the building. Ally was even careful to help him get over the crappy sidewalks this time.

All in all, it felt like a fresh start, and his parents always told him to give second chances. People make mistakes all the time, and it takes a bigger person to see this and allow them to fix their mistakes. Besides, he had enough drama in his life that he didn't need the unnecessary things like that filling more spots.

"You said both of your parents are doctors?"

Ally nodded as they came to a stop at the table. "Yeah. My father is a trauma surgeon, interestingly enough and my mother runs her own practice downtown for multiple things. I grew up around medicine and all that. I practically ran the hospital as a kid."

He snorted, "Really? I can't picture you in kitten heels tormenting doctors about dolls."

She pretended to offended, "Why do you hate my kitten heels? They're adorable."

"Seriously?"

She shrugged, "They are. You can mock all you want."

"They're not hospital friendly."

She rolled her eyes, "I feel like you've hit more than five digs in the last two minutes."

He grinned, "Well, it's fun. I can't help it."

He watched as she rolled her eyes and he knew he had hit a soft spot, so he didn't continue his attack on her clothing. He figured maybe shopping was something she enjoyed doing, but probably started to love when her parents weren't around. Doctors didn't work normal hours, nor did they have a lot of time to themselves. It started to make sense that the girl could be so cold… she was probably raised by babysitters and the occasional reminder to behave.

"So, what about you? What do you parents do?"

Austin laughed to himself. "Not as impressive as doctors, that's for sure. My father works as a firefighter and when he's not there, he's the pastor for our church. My mom often just takes odd jobs to cover whatever bills need to be paid. It's not often a lasting position; she kind of made her life that of being a housewife and mother."

"Is it annoying to have her around all the time?"

He at first didn't understand the question, but then thought further into it. He never realized that having your parents around often might seem weird to her. Austin was used to his mother being home when he got home from school, or was always around if he needed something last minute. He appreciated that and could always count on her baking for school fundraisers.

"It made it hard for being a teenager," he admitted. "I couldn't really get much past her. She's always home, so sneaking out was tough." He snickered. "I guess that is my karma for sneaking out on her that night. I screwed my own life up. I should've just gone to bed."

"I don't know if that's how it works."

He shrugged. "I mean, I'm grateful for having her around. But mix in that with religious, overprotective parents, and I'm pretty sure that if they had it their way, they would've witnessed my first kiss." He rolled his eyes. "They have my entire life planned out to a degree. I'm supposed to marry Piper and carry on living here. I wonder if you can get married to someone without them knowing. It's the only way."

"Who says you have to marry Piper?" Ally countered. "I love my boyfriend, but I'm in no rush to marry him."

Austin bit back surprise. He never heard her mention a boyfriend. "I didn't know you were dating someone."

She giggled, "Don't look so shocked. His name is Cooper. I met him about two years ago. His father owns one of the big businesses down town. We met at some charity thing that both of our parents attended. He's a law student."

"Damn," he whistled. "And here I am hoping to just get into the local community college. But to answer your question, it's always kind of been that way. I have been with her so long—we grew up together, and I think our families expect it. My mom keeps saying that Piper will come around, but I don't think so. You can't expect someone to want to stay with someone like me."

"Alright, I'm a spoiled bitch from what you say—" She was cut off by him protesting that he never called her that, but she just brushed it off. "You're wrong, though. And I don't mean about me. There is absolutely no reason someone who loves you cannot see that you are still the same person. And hey, I get that you've known her for years. But maybe in some twisted way, this is your God's way of warning you now she is not the person you should be spending the rest of your life with."

He shrugged his shoulders, shifting as best he could in the chair. It was so hard to get comfortable these days. "I suppose so. But what else could something like this mean? I don't think it was God's way of showing me the technological advances in the wheelchair department."

Ally snorted. "I don't know either."

"Some help you are!"

They laughed for a few moments together, and then a silence fell over the conversation. Austin wasn't sure what he should say after that, there was something weird about not arguing with Ally. Of course, it was a lot less exhausting than the former thought, but this calmness, the almost friendly nature still seemed so foreign. And he was exhausted, too. He had no memory of the seizure, just the horrified expression Ally had on her face when he came out of it (he never saw a look like that on anyone's face before, he didn't think) but his upper body was sore in places he didn't know could be sore.

"What's wrong?" Ally asked, breaking the silence. He noticed she was carefully looking over his body for some sort of sign for his lack of noise.

"I was just thinking," he assured her. "I can't help but think this feels weird."

Guilt replaced the concern and she looked away. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he finally replied. "It'll pass." He let a breathy laugh escape his throat. "I must say, I don't really know what to do with myself."

"Wanna go for a walk?" Ally immediately frowned and Austin burst out laughing. "Okay, bad word choice. You get my point."

"Sure," he said when he regained his composure. "Where to?"

"Just around obviously," she retorted playfully. "We're kind of locked in. Maybe we should keep learning about each other. You mentioned you were just trying to get into community college. Still have plans for that when you're all done here?"

He hadn't considered any of that. Austin knew he wasn't the best student. Actually, he wasn't the best at anything, as far as he could remember. He was sure his mother would give that lame joke about being the best at being her son, but he never really came to the top of anything he ever tried. He felt average. Somehow, in a sick twist on life, he managed for once to become someone who stood out, thanks to an accident.

"I don't know," he admitted finally. "My life isn't going to be the same. I planned on following in my father's footsteps in every sense of the word. I don't think they hire paralyzed firemen. I mean maybe I could still work for the church."

"Do you want to work for the church?"

He shrugged. He was never asked otherwise. "Yeah, I guess so. It's all I know."

"That's not a very good answer," Ally muttered.

"You're one to talk. You're going to be a doctor," he pointed out.

Ally nodded. "Yeah, but it wasn't my only option. I looked into fashion, I looked into business. There were other career options I considered and tried before I decided that."

"Are you suggesting that I broaden my horizons now?" he teased.

"It's not too late," she said gently. "I mean, you're probably going to be stuck here a while. Why not use some of that time to really find out what you want in life?"

Austin didn't answer that.

She continued, "Maybe that's one reason this happened? I don't mean that in some horrific way. I am just saying it's a chance to look at your life, who and what is in it, and decide if that's how you want to continue it. If you really believe in this religious stuff, I would think that you still have some ability to choose what you want, right?"

"Of course."

Austin looked at her as she stopped near the entrance of the building—how long had they been up and down those sidewalks? He barely remembered moving. "Then make a change if you feel that's what you want to do," she encouraged. "You'll never know what you're capable of, or what makes you happy, if you don't try."


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you for your reviews. I am sorry for the wait of this chapter! Life doesn't always like to play along with my plans of updating. Sometimes for great reasons, sometimes for less than great. Anyway, I've been working on updates to both stories, and I appreciate the support given to me. Special shout out to Liz, who I promised I'd update this for the other night... and then I fell asleep. Hashtag oops. ;)**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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Ally left for the weekend feeling better about this internship then she had since it all started. The weekend seemed long—and almost lonely without being at the rehab center. Her friends all had plans with other people or other commitments, and Connor was out of town for some college related thing she didn't quite remember, so she spent the time alone. Ally used this time to familiarize herself with paraplegia to the point that her eyes were drying out from staring at a computer screen so long.

The internet was a wonderful, but information-filled place. There was more at her fingertips than she could handle, each offering more insight to Austin's possible condition and other's stories which both intimidated and inspired her. There was heartbreak; there was triumph, and everything in between. Sometime between Friday night and Sunday afternoon, she'd become acquainted with so many lives through blogs, videos, and support groups that she felt as if she almost knew some of these people.

It gave her a different outlook on everything she'd been introduced to in the last week. Ally wondered if Austin knew about the mounds of information and support he could get from others with just the click of a mouse or tap on his phone. Once she let her guard down and stopped trying to be the enemy, it all seemed to be easier to handle, and the more capable of surviving the internship she felt.

When her father turned home late Sunday night, she finally turned her laptop off and joined him for a dinner on the porch, the sun setting in the pink sky.

"How is the internship going, Ally?"

She smiled warmly; glad for once she didn't have to lie. "It started out rocky, but I think it's going to go over well now."

"That's great. I'm proud of you for realizing the potential in it. Have you learned anything significant yet?"

She thought back to Austin's seizure the other morning and how haunting it was to watch. Sometimes when she closed her eyes, she could still see his body jerk in ways that it shouldn't. Then, she remembered it was over and he was okay. The doctors had even confirmed it was an allergic reaction to the antibiotic, and a severe one at that.

"I learned how to deal with a seizure on Friday morning. It was scary."

He nodded, "Yes, they are. Is the patient okay now?"

"Yes," she stated absently, realizing that somehow, from not seeing or talking to Austin in a couple of days, she began to wonder how he was doing. A part of her knew if she showed up to the hospital on the weekend the staff wouldn't care, she would be a visitor then, but she also didn't want to push any buttons yet. They were friends now, yes, but that didn't mean he wanted her there all the time. Ally didn't want to be there all of the time—she did worry about him, that said.

"Ally?"

"Sorry," she smiled, shaking her head. "I was just thinking."

"Get some sleep," her father told her with a shake of his head too. "You look exhausted."

"I think I will go to bed early," she agreed, grabbing both of their plates. They didn't have any hired help on the weekends, so she figured she would take the dishes in. She wouldn't clean them—that wasn't her job, after all—but dirty plates outside would bring bugs. "I have another long week ahead of me, after all."

"Goodnight, Ally," her father called, and she smiled, blowing him a kiss.

Ally awoke Monday morning to a thunderstorm shaking the house, her alarm blaring at her ear. She groaned as she turned it off, dragging her body out of bed. She knew Austin liked the rain, but she didn't know how he felt about thunderstorms. Quite frankly, they annoyed her. Most of the time, it knocked the power out at her house, and she wasn't over the last time it happened during the finale of one of her TV shows, making her miss a crucial moment in a scene. So, she was bitter.

Regardless, she got up and took a shower, settling on a pair of tight skinny jeans and a loose fitting t shirt, throwing her hair into a ponytail and putting on basic make up. The weather app on her phone said to expect on an off again storms all day, as the tropical weather south of them called for increasing clouds and winds—seemed a bit early for hurricane season, but that didn't mean they couldn't get bad storms either. They did live in an area which was notorious for them.

By the time she got to the hospital, she was caffeinated and awake, feeling a bit better about the glum looking weather. With some disappoint, she found that Austin's mood seemed to match the outside weather, not that it was his fault. She entered her room to find him awake in bed, but in a considerable amount of pain. He explained that while the pain was usually well managed these days, it wasn't always the case and sometimes, he just had to wait it out. TO her surprise, it made him almost a little irritable and a few of her seemingly harmless jokes got her snaps back.

Ally finally took a deep breath, realizing it wasn't the time for it. She crossed the room and sat on the edge of the hospital bed, seeing the outline of his PICC line under a t shirt, a type of IV which often fed different prescriptions directly into someone's vein. They were often put into patients who would be receiving long term medications so that they weren't constantly being poked and prodded for unnecessary reasons. She often forgot he had it, until the nurse came in with medications for him.

"Can I do anything?" she asked softly, watching as he leaned back on the bed, shutting his eyes tightly in an attempt to relieve the pain. She didn't ask what kind of pain it was—though she learned from his file he experienced several types. The worst to her seemed to be the "phantom pain" or the pain he felt in his limb that no longer existed. While she knew that Austin feeling pain there was a good sign in hopes of recovery, it was both mentally and physically exhausting.

"No," he stated quietly.

Ally waited for a while, starting to feel restless.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," she decided, and left the room without waiting for an answer. By the time she got down the hallway, the almost drowning feeling she got watching him suffer in pain had elevated and her own head felt a little clearer.

That's when she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye, staring at her.

He was tall and lanky, with wide eyes and bright red hair. When he was caught staring, he pushed away from the wall he was leaning on and made way for the elevator down the hall. Ally felt unnerved by this person and she didn't like that he was watching her—so she followed.

"Hey!" she called as the elevator opened.

He stopped, caught and turned to look at her. "Sorry?" he asked.

"Why were you staring at me?" she demanded.

He shrugged his shoulders, offering a goofy grin. "Beautiful girl, can't help myself. Sorry! Have a good day!"

She didn't believe it. "Wait!" Ally got into the elevator after him, and she noticed how antsy she got when the doors closed and he was alone with her.

Finally, it all came out in a jumble, "Please don't tell them I was here. I don't want to get in trouble. I'm not supposed to be here, but I have to check up on him! I would be a terrible friend if not—but how good of a friend could I be if he doesn't even know I'm here?" The boy paused, turning his head to one side, "I don't know you, though. I've seen you here a few times in the last week." Ally felt her stomach drop that someone had been watching her all week and she only just noticed. "Who are you?"

"Whoa," she stammered. "Slow down. Let's start from the beginning—and let's make sense this time."

"I am asking you not to tell Mrs. Moon I was here," he begged. "I'll pay you—I mean, I don't have much money," he paused, eyeing her clothes, "And from what you're wearing you do, so I know my plea probably doesn't help much but please don't tell her."

"Mrs. Moon?" she asked. "You mean Austin's mom?"

He seemed taken back, "Duh!"

Ally suddenly had an idea who she was talking to, remembering what Austin had said about his best friend not coming to visit him, and how his parents were weird about it. "You're Dez." 

He nodded brightly, a quick smile gracing his pale face before the frown returned, "Are you going to tell them?"

She rolled her eyes, "No. I could care less."

"Who are you?" he asked.

Ally smiled too, "I'm Ally. I am an intern for the rehab center. I was paired with Austin for the next six weeks. I get credit for college for completing the internship."

"How is he?" he pleaded suddenly. "I can't really tell when I walk by, and I have to be careful because if Wendy isn't here I can get into a lot of trouble—she's the only one who knows the truth." The elevator door opened on the main floor and Dez looked out onto the hallway with a paranoid expression. He shook his head, "I shouldn't be telling you that. I'm sorry. I should go. Just… just keep an eye on him, please? He's my best friend. I'm sure he hates me anyway. That's what they want him to do, at least."

"Wait!" she called out, trying to catch up to the lanky male. He moved too fast though, and was out the door and into the pouring rain before she could question him further. Ally watched him disappear from her sight and then sighed. What the hell just happened?

Ally wanted nothing more to follow him, demand clearer answers, but knew she probably wouldn't get them. From what she gathered, there was information being held back from Austin—the truth, as Dez put it that only he and Wendy seemed to know. Mondays were Wendy's day off usually, so she would have to wait until tomorrow to poke that subject. If Wendy would even tell her, that is. Dez seemed harmless enough; but she did understand Austin's parents' concern if it was his actions that left Austin in the state in which he was in. She'd be angry, too.

But these were religious people… weren't they supposed to forgive? She knew something like that was the case, but maybe it was different, or maybe it was one of those situations where it really proved that religions could be highly ironic and misleading. Trish also came from a religious family, and while she was not as invested in it like Austin's it seemed, she did believe but constantly told her how many times people proved themselves hypocrites.

"The older people in my family still believe being gay is a sin, but had no problem cheating on their wives," Trish had once said. "It was the eighties. As if a decade is excuse to be unfaithful."

Ally had agreed. The thought of relationships brought her mind to Connor and she realized she didn't text him back that morning, so she quickly sent him a text wishing him a safe return home, and to call her that evening for plans. Satisfied, she glanced back toward Austin's room. It seemed only minutes passed, but maybe there was positive development in Austin's pain management. The benefits of IV medication happened to be the quick release on pain, she knew. Taking a pill might be easier, and less hectic, but from both Austin's word and the nurses, an intravenous supply cut the waiting time in almost half.

The nurse that was working Wendy's shift gave her a dirty look as she passed, and Ally couldn't quite figure out why. She was one of the rude ones, one of those nurses that made you wonder why they took an oath to serve and heal. She hated her job. Ally knew she could be bitter and rude, but hoped that one day she didn't have that outlook on the field she was crossing into.

Back in Austin's room, she found him passed out. Time was ticking by so slowly, and Ally searched for something to do; she didn't want to leave, that would make Austin think she didn't care, or she was bored or tired of his presence and discomfort. She also couldn't just sit there and do nothing, either. The movies they placed in his room might wake him, and her phone could only give so much entertainment, so another thought came to mind and it made her wrinkle her nose. She could clean.

Ally didn't clean. That's what the paid help at her house did for her, from vacuuming and dishes, and everything in between. She liked the majority of those who worked for her, Maggie being her favorite. She often did things the others didn't, including go out of her way to make Ally happy. One of the less accommodating maids snorted once when she blurted this (after a very bad cleaning job to her bathroom), snidely remarking, and "Yeah, probably because she knows that keeping the princess happy makes the boss happy. Your father pays us a nice check, Ms. Dawson. It is quite nice of him, but it also proves most deserving for having to deal with you on a daily basis."

That help wasn't welcomed back.

Sitting down at the chair momentarily, Ally wondered where to start. It was a hospital room so the majority of it was clean. Austin had very little belongings with him that they hadn't placed a few days previous, and most of them were neat, too. She decided as she positioned and repositioned the DVDs (finally putting them in both genre and letter order) that she needed a new hobby.

"Do you always talk to yourself?"

Ally crashed into the nearest wall at the sound of Austin's voice.

She recovered, both mentally and physically, turning on her heel to face a smirking, quite proud Austin. "Don't look at me like what you just did was an accomplishment." 

"It might have been," he countered.

The banter relieved her, as it told her that his pain must be better. "And no, I do not always talk to myself. I didn't even know I said that out loud."

"So, I repeat my question with a bonus now added, how long have you been unaware that you talk to yourself?"

She scowled, picking up a DVD off the floor that fell victim to her.

"You really don't have a lot of hobbies?"

Ally sat down on the chair closer to Austin's bed and shrugged her shoulders. Off the top of her head, nothing really came to mind. She had friends, money, and the constant urge to shop, but admitting this to Austin seemed like the most superficial and joke-worthy thing she could say. "I like TV shows."

This peaked his interest, "Yeah, which ones?"

She listed off a few reality shows, and some teen dramas, and watched as his smile faded. "I hate when you prove yourself so typical."

That did not feel like a playful jab. That comment actually hurt, but she stuck her tongue out anyway, "And what do you watch, oh holy TV watcher?"

"The Walking Dead. I loved Breaking Bad. I am trying to get into Game of Thrones, but I'd like to read the books first, and they're so long." He paused, shaking his head. "Actually, I have a lot of time on my hands."

"Those are all widely popular, prime time TV shows," she deadpanned. "What makes you any more special than me?"

"These shows have substance," he declared, "The Bachelor instead makes you turn to substance abuse."

She fake laughed, but didn't let him take the last word, "The Walking Dead is about zombies and people being god awful to each other, slaughtering each other any chance they get. Then, oh look, a tiny glimmer of hope for humanity! Season finale time… rinse and repeat."

She knew she had him fired up, as his eyes did this sparkling thing that she caught several times when he was excited and feeling good. "No, no you are so wrong. I can't believe how wrong you are—have you even watched the show? Do you even know who any of the characters are?"

He was so exasperated by her attempts to harm his favorite show, and she secretly enjoyed it, "I know there is some guy with greasy hair that girls fawn over like he's some kind of god."

"Yeah, that's Daryl, but there's more to the show then that."

He stopped, giving her a look, "You're smirking. Stop it. You're enjoying this. You just played me."

She folded her arms, grinning ear to ear. "You started it."

"I stand by my TV choices. My shows win awards."

"Whatever," she laughed, noticing another storm seemed to be coming from the west. He glanced that way too, pushing his lower body up with the strength in his upper arms. They sat in silence for a bit as thunder rumbled in the distance, a tiny flash of light proving that her thought was correct.

"Why do you like the rain so much?" she asked.

He shrugged, "It feels cleansing, you know? I feel like it gets such a bad rap. It rains and everyone is so angry about it—where is the sun and all that. But when the sun is shining, no one is happy either. The rain fuels the ground, which fuels all the life around us. Without plants, there would be no animals, without animals, and so on… its one of God's most underappreciated gifts."

"It ruins my hair," she deadpanned.

Austin gently shoved her, "Try a hat."

"And get hat hair?" she gasped. "No way."

He laughed this time and watched another strike of lightening take the sky. "I used to sit out on my back porch and watch the storms. The wind blowing and tossing everything around. It's so powerful, but it's also nature. I don't know. I guess I appreciate that kind of thing." He glanced at her, "I once left my house a couple years back during one of the stronger hurricanes—forget which one now, but I holed up in an old abandoned barn down the street from my house so that I didn't get wet, but I kept the door open so I could experience it… it was crazy. What the power of something natural can do is absolutely mind-blowing."

"That sounds incredibly dangerous."

"No more dangerous than being in a car under the influence," he admitted.

Ally bit down her lip at the comment, not sure how to respond.

Then he nodded, "Yeah, but it was also thrilling and magical."

"A sale at my favorite boutique gives me that same feeling," she quipped.

Austin rolled his eyes, "My point in all of this talk is—I enjoy weather. I enjoy being out in nature. I used to walk down at the beach all the time. I always meant to take up surfing, but I guess that's a dream wasted now. Got into hiking the last couple of years, too. Maybe I can get a chair that goes off road, so I could still do some form of hiking." He looked over her outfit that day and continued, "You'd complain the entire time, but I bet you would grow to love hiking just as much as me."

"Maybe," she agreed, giving him a true smile. The room fell to a silence just as nature filled it with a powerful burst of thunder. The power went out momentarily, only seconds passing before a cracking sound followed and the back up generator came on. "Well. That changes things."

Austin took the time to grin, arching himself forward. "Want to play a game?"

Austin's idea of a game was calling in Jake and Cassidy from the room and playing truth or dare. He said it was the perfect game to play during a storm, especially when the staff was preoccupied with 'standard procedures' and double checking important power related things. A tiny part of her didn't want the other two in the room, as she was enjoying her conversation with the bed-ridden blond. Still, truth or dare could be a fun game. She remembered many drunken nights in high school from it.

"Okay, who wants to go first?" Cassidy laughed.

Jake nudged Austin's bed, "I think Austin should, since this was his idea."

"Fair enough," Austin grinned, eyeing the small group. Not surprisingly, he turned to Ally, "Truth or dare?"

She weighed her choices. She had a feeling that he wouldn't go easy on her either way, especially when they locked eyes and he gave her a smirk that made her hair stand up. "Dare," she finally stated, her voice hinting her hesitance.

He played on this. Austin leaned forward in the bed (enough to almost stumble into himself—he was still not used to his lack of lower motor control—and she got up, ready to steady him, but he was able to fix himself) and then stared at the other male in the room. "I dare you… I dare you…" he trailed off, clearly enjoying the possibilities that could be had. She was surprised when he gave her an easy first go, "Stand up and dance around like no one is watching." Then, he grabbed his phone and got it ready to video.

Ally shrugged, thinking she'd have worse and got up, showing off just how bad her dancing skills were. The room erupted into laughter between the three of her onlookers, and she shrugged a second time, finishing off by crossing her arms and posing. A wide smile on her face from the success, she decided she'd let Austin sweat for a bit, and turned to Cassidy, "Truth or dare?"

Cassidy grinned, "Truth."

Ally wanted her to admit that she had a thing for Jake in front of him, and she was not the type to hold back, "Do you have a crush on anyone right now?"

Austin saw her thought and too watched the strawberry blonde. She nervously looked at Ally, as if to say 'come on' but then nodded. Jake, oblivious, egged her on, "Really, who?"

Cassidy attempted to play it cool, "Oh, just on this really nice guy."

Ally thought she saw Jake's shoulders fall at the sound of this nice guy. Was he really that dense that he didn't realize it was him, or was he trying to keep their obvious connection a secret so that the girl didn't get in trouble? She wasn't sure.

"Lucky guy," he finally stated, and Cassidy's face reddened further, "My turn," she squeaked out and looked at the group for a second before shrugging, "Throwing it back to Austin here. Truth or dare?"

"Truth," he said, shocking everyone, "But only because I have a feeling most dares I probably can't do well."

Cassidy nodded, "Alright. What was your first kiss like?"

Cassidy had no idea what Austin had been through with his (ex?) girlfriend over the last week, other than the awkward reveal of Piper in the room that day. She hadn't a chance to talk to her fellow intern, so as far as she was concerned, there was no harm in asking a question like she had. Besides, most people's first kiss did not compute to their current spouse, at least not many. But the question quickly threw Austin and made him shift in bed, not wanting to think about his relationship with the girl. Ally almost wanted to cut in and save him, but she figured that might make things worse.

"It was nice," he finally stated softly, and Ally saw Jake's eyes narrow. He wasn't as oblivious as she thought after all, and he too softened his expression. "With a nice girl. A girl I still care a lot about."

"Aww," Cassidy exclaimed, grinning ear to ear. "That's adorable. What's her name?"

Austin this time rubbed his arm and Ally couldn't take it anymore, "Did anyone hear that?"

Cassidy glanced over at her, "What?"

"That sound down the hallway." She was glad to be sandwiched between Austin's bed and Tyler's crutches, so that she couldn't act on the pretend sound she just heard. Instead, she got Cassidy distracted enough in the next few seconds to search for a sound before coming back to sit down next to the group. She didn't miss Austin's thankful stare before he clapped his hands together, "Truth or dare, Ally?"

She groaned, "And that's how you repay me," she muttered only loud enough for him to hear it. "Truth," she deadpanned.

"We're in what could be considered the hardest parts of our lives right now," he motioned to himself and Jake as he spoke, "So my question is, what time was that for you?"

She smirked, "Maybe right now."

He gave her a teasing smirk back, but shook his head. "Seriously."

Ally thought back to a time during her life that she tried to cloud from her own memory, a time that reminded her again and again how different things were now—how it seemed like such a long time ago and how thankful she was that it was behind her. Would she have it in her to tell the truth?

"I bet it was a bad hair dye job, or a time when someone wore the same outfit as you," he teased further, eating up her quiet thoughts.

Ally shook her head, hating where the question led her mentally and wondered how to get out of this easily. Finally, she forced herself out of the thought and smiled, "Not when someone wore the same outfit, but there was a girl at prom that had the same dress. I made her change," she deadpanned, but she saw Austin see right through the lie. He gave her a look, one she ignored and she forced a smile onto her face, grinning wildly to mask what she truly had been thinking of. With a more shrill reply than she meant, she looked at Jake, "Truth or Dare?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you for your reviews. I am very sorry for the long wait of this chapter, but life once again has gotten in the way. That, and writer's block is a hard thing to deal with. I am very happy with how this chapter, and the next have turned out, and this is part one of a two part thing. It was originally one chapter, but I thought it was more fitting to split them into two. I absolutely hope it's worth the wait, and thank you to Liz who was there to listen to me ramble for much of the planning of this chapter in the last few weeks. You rock!**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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The power came back on soon after Austin asked Ally about the hardest time in her life. He hadn't expected her to hesitate like she did—or the haunted look come over her face to the point where she seemed to no longer be in the room with them, and if he could go back and not ask the question, he would have. He expected some shallow answer, one that she would quip at him with a teasing smile, something he was used to, and he would answer back with something just as ridiculous.

Thankfully, as the power came back on, the nurses' became aware of their party and asked that Jake and Cassidy go back to their rooms for the time being so everyone's vitals could be entered. Ally took the last few minutes to rearrange the things on his nightstand, and he wondered if he should bring it up.

The sky was clearing from the window, clouds still present but not as dark, and he watched as the darkened sky lightened. "Can you help me reposition, please?"

Ally turned back around sharply, and he again noticed she seemed out of place.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," she said with an obviously fake smile, coming over to him and helping him readjust. The annoyance he had with his lower body grew with each day… he could move his own body but without the strength in important areas, it sometimes meant that he would throw one leg a different direction and toss his torso with it, a dangerous predicament that his physical therapist said he would eventually get the hang of.

"Can I do anything else?" she asked with an equally preoccupied tone.

He shrugged but then shook his head no.

"You look like you're pretty comfortable now," she noted, her voice floating back to the present, and he caught her sharply look over his body and face for any signs of his discomfort. Oddly, he did feel comfortable for the first time in days. He had some minor aches in his upper body, but nothing that wasn't manageable or distracting. Austin wondered what that meant. Was it here to stay?

"I feel good," he finally answered, also still watching her reaction. He didn't want to burden her with any pressing attempts to figure out what happened, but it also felt wrong to just drop it. A frown came over his features at the thought of physical therapy later that afternoon, momentarily jarring him from his thoughts of the brunette, after Ally would leave. It was scheduled for very late that day, meaning he would be alone when it was over. It usually left him aggravated and sore, and a part of him wanted to dismiss himself from it somehow, but he knew better than trying that.

"I am only a few minutes out from the day being over," she realized.

"Shucks," he teased.

Ally rolled her eyes, "Who says shucks?"

"Who wears kitten heels?"

She finally cracked at his jab and threw up her hands, "Why do you hate my kitten heels so much?"

He had nothing against the shoes, other than the thought that they did seem out of place at the hospital. Still, it always seemed to make her change the subject, which he was entirely ready for. "Why does it bother you so much?"

The two of them locked eyes and Austin could feel the smolder mock anger building beneath her. Truth was, he was a champion at holding a stare and finally, she broke the glare and stomped her foot, poking a finger in his face. "I'll remember that," she threatened, gathering her bags from the counter beside his bed. "Maybe I was going to bring real food with me tomorrow—yummy food like _donuts_ , but I may reconsider it now."

She turned on her heel and gave him a devilish grin before he could protest, waving goodbye with her free hand, in a typical rich teenage girl fashion, one that someone Austin found himself enjoying more and more as the days went on.

Later alone with his thoughts, he realized that without Ally, his visitors list was quite small. His mother only came for an hour or so each day, trying to play catch up in her life and do double the work now that his father was trying to bring in extra money to pay the large deductibles not covered medical expenses. He didn't think she realized he knew this, but it made him feel all the worse sitting in a hospital bed when the stress and demands were piling up on his small family.

He wondered often about Dez, and tried not to think too much about Piper. He texted her after she left that day, begging for her to at least try and understand, but as the days dwindled into the next and he yet to receive a reply, he realized it was probably over. Would that add more stress to his parents' lives? It would be quite the shock to find out that Piper and Austin would likely not marry as everyone thought.

But Dez was not as taboo in his own mind as he seemed to be everywhere else. While the redheaded male also did not answer his texts, Austin was starting to think his parents were keeping bigger secrets than he realized. Looking over the police report and medical notes he came in with, there were very clearly written details about who was driving and the extent of both of their injuries. Austin knew that being thrown from the vehicle explained a lot of his, but how did Dez walk away from the accident with practically no injuries? He saw his friend's brother's car, the driving side was absolutely destroyed, there seemed to be no plausible explanation for the story he was being told. Especially when the passenger side of the vehicle received less damage.

Why would Dez lie? He never thought his friend would go behind the wheel of a car without a license, but they both were quite drunk and hooked up on so much testosterone pumping in their body with hopes to defend Carrie's honor, so maybe there were bits he was missing, too. Besides, he couldn't remember anything about the accident. Dez wasn't knocked out as far as he could tell, so he would.

He just wished the male would answer his texts, and fill him in on the details.

The two of them had been friends for well over a decade; there was no person other than Piper who knew him as well as the quirky male did. How could someone just drop that many years of friendship?

Sometime later, a male and rather grumpy nurse came and got him for therapy. He was rough with him getting him into the chair and he resisted the urge to make a comment.

At therapy, it seemed not much had changed, which was less than stellar. His lower body might feel numb in the majority of it's parts, but the pain that rocketed elsewhere made it so he wanted to scream in agony. Still, he kept his mouth shut, forcing himself to grit through the pain, even when the friendly nurse asked if he wanted to stop.

"I want to know what my body is doing," he stated again, unable to hide the pant of exhaustion that exited his lips.

"It takes time," the woman said in one of those stupid voices that practically breathed positivity and it angered him. They were all saying that kind of thing and it annoyed him. He didn't want false hope, he wanted someone to give him the truth, at least then he'd know what he was working with. He had come to realize the majority of the staff didn't want to upset the disabled kid.

Figures.

"Well, I think we're about done here for today," the woman stated sometime later, while his shoulders screamed in protest to trying to lift the body weight beneath him. He rolled his chair against the wall and relaxed his head against the cool stone. As if she sensed his defeat, the nurse added, "You're doing great."

He scowled, mostly at himself, "Doesn't feel that way."

"With that attitude, you'll get no where."

"Hilarious coming from someone who has the ability to walk," he snapped.

Immediately, he felt bad. It wasn't her fault that he landed here. He apologized, and she brushed it off, probably used to that kind of anger from her patients. With another apologetic goodbye, he headed off to the main area where he could see Jake mingling with the other residents. While he was tired, and wishing to just lie in his bed, he knew it was rude to pretend he didn't see him.

Jake saw him first, grinning ear to ear. "Man, that truth or dare today rocked."

"Yeah," he said absently, picking at his shirt. "I guess so."

"Nah man," he replied, his tone practically bouncing with excitement. The dark haired male wiggled his eyebrows, "I got a kiss out of it."

He laughed, "Cassidy finally admitted she's got a huge crush on you?"

"Bro, you knew?" he whined. "Dude!"

"Sorry," he laughed a second time. "Thought it was obvious."

 **From the Ground Up**

While Ally had plans of spending the evening rewatching one of her favorite reality shows, Cassidy had other plans. What she gathered from the excited phone call was that she garnered enough courage to kiss Jake, and it had gone over well. Then she invited her out to dinner, and the young brunette figured it wouldn't hurt to really get to know the babbling strawberry blonde.

So, they met at some chain restaurant and she listened for nearly ten minutes while she told her how their afternoon had gone following the truth or dare. Ally couldn't help but smile at some parts; it was obvious the two of them liked each other, so why dance around it? The way she spoke of Jake reminded her how she felt about Connor.

"I'm happy for you," Ally stated warmly. "Really."

Cassidy paused, sipping on her iced tea. " _Really_?"

"Really," she repeated.

"I always felt like maybe I annoyed you," she admitted after a moment. The girl twirled a piece of her hair with an absent look on her face "Or thought maybe I bored you. I'm kinda shocked you agreed to come to dinner."

Was she that terrible? Cassidy wasn't the first one to make it sound like Ally was some horrible person who only dealt with everyone at the rehab center because she had to. Then again, she did give that kind of vibe to everyone the first week or so. It made her guilty, when Cassidy was nothing but sweet and honest, who truly wanted to be her friend.

"I'm sorry about that," she admitted. "I had a rough first few days. I swear that's not the case."

Cassidy grinned at the sentence, "Good, because I need to somehow plan a date with a guy who is a little unsteady on his feet."

She grinned ear to ear, "Isn't that funny? Usually it's the other way around."

"What did you do on your first date with your boyfriend?" The girl's face deepened a pink tone, "I really don't have much experience in the dating department."

"He took me out to dinner and then on his parent's boat."

"I don't have a boat," Cassidy stated in a panicked tone.

Ally giggled, "No, and that's okay. I don't think you want to put Jake on a boat just yet anyway. Unless you secretly want him to topple overboard."

Cassidy made a face as if to consider it, and then shook her head.

The two of them giggled, and Ally gave her both an encouraging and happy smile.

"I promise you that I didn't have to threaten anyone to take you out of here today," Ally told him several days later while she gathered things off a list next to his bed. They finally were granted the opportunity to leave the hospital and Ally may or may not have spent several hours last night trying to plan and organize the trip down to the very last detail. Connor helped her too, giving her great advice.

The two of them seemed to see less and less of each other as the summer continued. He was so busy with classes and she was diving into her internship. Time with Austin was becoming more and more enjoyable, something both her parents were pleased with, and even Connor said was great practice. A part of her was relieved she didn't have the jealous, worrying boyfriend who did not trust her. She knew plenty of girls who never let their boyfriends out of sight, and vice versa. Her relationship with Connor was probably the most stable part of her life, she reasoned.

Austin had been teasing the last twenty or so minutes after she came into the room with a huge smile and declared they were leaving the rehab center for the morning. The trip was a surprise for him, something she knew of since the morning before and barely was able to keep quiet. She refused to tell them the place they were going and he was driving her insane with pleas to find out. "And no, you don't have to worry about your life. Jeez."

"Really?" he continued his banter. "I have never been in a car with you. You might see a dress in a store window and veer off."

Ally turned on her heel, straightened hair flipping with her. A gleaming smile came onto her face, and then she nodded slightly, "Fair enough." He noticed her pause, as if she wasn't sure if she should proceed, "What's the worst that could happen?"

At the same time, they both said, "End up in a wheelchair?"

Wide smiles quickly spread across each of their faces and Austin was first to boom laughter through the room. They shared equally mischievous smiles while she closed another bag, unable to stop herself from the laughter inside her. Their relationship too bloomed continuously, each day growing with the next. Sure, there were still rough moments, but she was learning to understand him better, and Austin seemed to do the same.

 **From the Ground Up**

The last day or so felt so good, despite finding out several less than awesome things, which included, yes, he did have a severe reaction to the antibiotic cipro, that his CT scan was still inconclusive, and that his father would still barely look him in the eye.

"We're almost good to go." Ally came over to where he was sitting in the wheelchair, tossing a few more things into a small duffel bag. She reached onto the bed, grabbing a clipboard, as Nurse Wendy came in with a checklist of her own. This outing she thrust upon him this morning seemed like a bigger deal than either of them might have realized. A lot of trust and dedication seemed at play. He heard the two of them talk in muffled voices, and he didn't miss the look of concern on the nurse's face. He couldn't blame the woman; it was a large endeavor to take someone like him out.

He heard, "Are you sure you can handle the transfer on your own?"

Austin's gaze turned to Ally, noticing her nod firmly in response. "I am. If I have any problems whatsoever anywhere, I am not afraid to ask for help. I won't need it though." She took a deep breath, one that was shakier than she probably realized, and forced a smile onto her face. "I can do this. I'll have him back in one piece later this afternoon, I promise."

Wendy nodded too, turning her attention to Austin. The young nurse smiled at the two of them, adjusting a few things in his bag while there was a lull in conversation. There were a lot of nurses that came in and out of his room through the week, but by far, she was his favorite. There was some sort of connection she seemed to have with every patient, something unspoken that reminded them all… it was going to be alright.

"Then I guess you're good to go." She dusted off her pants and looked directly at Ally. "I know you have my work and private number, please call for any reason."

"Will do."

Austin finally spoke up, "Wendy, should I fear for my life? Ally won't tell me where we are going."

The woman laughed heartily. "You will be fine, Austin. Don't you worry. Enjoy today. You deserve it, sweetie."

He beamed back at her, a true smile and the woman left the room. Ally clapped her hands together, gathering her bag and other items, then motioned to the door. "Time to head downstairs."

"Can't you give me one hint?" he pleaded as they made their way down the hall.

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so."

"You just answered me like I am a child."

Ally giggled behind him. "Do you want an actual answer to that sentence?"

"Touché."

The transfer went smoother than he imagined it would. Ally was stronger than she looked, and though there was a soft grunt from lifting him from the chair, he entered her expensive car with relatively no problems. Then, he took the time as she put away his things to examine it. Every bit of the surface screamed money, from the perfectly dusted black interior to the fancy air fresheners and designer sunglasses dangling from the mirror. Ally took her seat in the driver's side and gave him a less teasing smile.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes," he said without further comment.

She chuckled, a nervous and quick laugh and put the car into gear, pulling out of the spot slowly, and checking each direction every few seconds. He wanted to make a joke, hoping that somehow it would ease her nerves, but something told him it probably wouldn't. Would everyone walk on egg shells around him for the rest of his life?

"Can I put the radio on?"

"Sure," she said quickly.

He turned the knob slowly, flicking from station to station until he found a mellow rock song that seemed safe for the both of them to listen to. Though, something told him it didn't matter what he put on, Ally was far too invested in the road before her. It seemed unfair that he couldn't tease her without feeling guilty, but instead he tried to focus on the road around them, allowing the window to put a real breeze on his face. He missed the outside world so much. While most of this time of year was spent in air conditioning, there was only so much you could take before the salt began to fade from your memory.

He was so into his own head that he didn't notice that Ally stopped. Now parked, she seemed relaxed and was staring at him, waiting for him to notice where they were. With a quick turn of his head, he took in the surroundings and for some reason, it brought him pure joy. "The aquarium?"

"Yeah," she stated with a broad smile of her own. "You okay with that?"

"Hell yeah. Let's do it." He put the grin he'd been waiting for on and he saw her expression change. "Just don't push me into any tanks with sharks."

"No promises," Ally laughed, and got out of the car with a smile.

The few minutes after were invested in getting him back into the chair, which proved harder than he thought. Embarrassing smiles replaced excited ones momentarily, and with some effort, they were on their way to the door of the building, neither one daring to speak about the awkward shuffle they just witnessed.

"I checked the website multiple times," Ally finally declared, breaking the silence as she opened the door and let him roll through, following after. "They say the majority of the attractions are highly accessible and we should have no problem seeing them. They did also put that if we had any problems, people would be more than willing to help."

Her nervous smile graced his presence again and he gave her an appreciative one in return. He truly did admire that she'd gone out of her way to make sure his first outing wasn't a complete disaster. He could've ended up in a place where he was stuck with little room to maneuver, but in reality, the wide and spacious attractions were the perfect first-go at trying out this wheelchair thing in public. The halls of the hospital were different, clearly and he knew if he was going to be stuck in it for some time, he might as well get better.

"Two please," Ally stated to the woman behind the counter, who openly gawked at his leg when she glanced his way. Ally scowled almost immediately, and he was thrown back to the car when Ally asked if he wanted a blanket to cover his lower extremities. He politely declined, but had forgotten just how rude people could be. The woman continued to stare, making him uncomfortable as she moved at a snail's pace to prepare their trip and he even jumped when Ally cleared her throat loudly and snapped, "Stop looking at him and worry about those nasty split ends, sweetheart."

Austin was a bit appalled by the direct attempt to hurt her feelings, but could not help but feel relieved when the girl stuttered an apology and handed over their tickets without further glance his way. She put on the fakest, most alarmed smile and pathetically wished them a good trip.

He heard Ally mumble, "Hope people are less like you" and started off, leaving him to hurry to catch up. He hoped the trip would be better now that she'd gotten the one comment out of the way already.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you for your reviews. Again sorry for the wait. I promise I'm trying to update regularly, but sometimes life just doesn't allow that. I have some prewritten and I plan on trying to get back into the swing of things as the holiday break nears for me. I really love everything about this story and the characters, and have a lot that I want to do with it. :)**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ally could tell the words she said to the employee bothered Austin, but she couldn't stop herself. Watching the woman look at him like he was some sort of deformed creature sent her blood boiling and before she knew it, she was snapping, like she was used to, in order to prove a point. He didn't say anything about the gesture, but by his face, she knew better.

So, she just hoped it was soon forgotten. She wasn't going to apologize—was there a point to that—and knew if she continued to dwell on it, it would ruin the day. His first outing since getting hurt, something she was already too nervous about, too worried that somehow something would go wrong, he would get hurt, or sick, and she'd have to explain to the hospital that she injured him further. Besides, the car ride here had been bad enough. Well, the trip itself wasn't horrible—traffic was light and the breeze on their faces felt nice, but once they arrived, getting Austin out of the car proved more challenging than either of them probably thought. The enclosed space of the vehicle made it hard for her to help him maneuver himself, and several times they both got up close and personal with body parts that she wasn't too keen on seeing, unless they were her boyfriend's.

"Ally?" Austin's voice took her from her thoughts.

She forced a smile and looked toward him, "Sorry. Mentally trying to map out the day a bit. Where do you want to head to first?" She showed him the pamphlets of exhibits, knowing she had favorites to see (penguins and the sea lions) but was not surprised when he looked up only seconds later and grinned.

"Sharks," he demanded without second thought, pointing in the general direction of the aquarium area. "Let's see them. I bet they're huge."

They probably weren't that big, she wanted to counter. Most huge sharks did not do well in captivity, so they kept ones that only grew about ten or so feet. Still, sharks were creepy and way up a guy's ally, so she followed along while they tried to figure out the map. The elevator was way out of the way, far beyond the stairs in the middle of the enclosure which would've led them right there. Ally was growing more agitated by the second, her pulse throbbing every time someone nearly bumped into Austin or tripped over his chair. He would say excuse me countless times but the conversations made it hard for everyone to hear. But those who did see him? It was like the parting of a sea, people nearly stumbled to get out of the way, and that bothered her too.

Ally hurried along, reminding herself they were supposed to be having fun. She made a mental note to keep tabs on his appearance, just to be safe, but she was surprised when she caught back up with him, to only see peace on his face. The people didn't bother him, or at least he wasn't letting it show.

"Have you been here before?" Austin asked as they finally got onto the elevator, people pushing themselves against the wall to make room for them.

Ally nodded, "A few times during school. I haven't been here in years though."

"I don't think I've ever been here," he admitted. "The school never took us on this big of field trips. They were too broke."

She made a face. The aquarium couldn't be that far from most of the public schools of the area, and it was a relatively cheap fare, she reasoned.

"Oh." She smiled brightly. "Alright. We're here, let's do this."

The shark exhibit proved a bit daunting. There were a lot of people, as it was almost mid day, swarming the huge tank like lightening bugs in a dark field, moving quickly and proving it nearly impossible for the two of them to find an opening to enjoy. Ally never realized how exhausting and frustrating it could be to have the unfortunate inconvenience to not act like them. She knew it was not his fault, but the wheelchair was already proving difficult to see with. The handicap accessible area was covered with children, using the extra space to climb closer to the deep water and observe with their faces plastered to the glass.

"I can't believe how big they are," Austin said, craning his neck at such an awkward angle to see the ones toward the top of the tank. He pointed at something, as if oblivious to it all, "Whoa! Check out the teeth on that guy!"

A little boy turned around at the sound of that and began to stare at Austin instead. He was of course unaware, grinning ear to ear at some shark's teeth while Ally tapped on her foot, willing him with her eyebrows to stop. Where were the kid's parents? He inched closer to the chair, now effectively mentally strapped onto Austin's missing leg.

Then, he spoke, "Mister, did a shark do that to you?"

Austin broke out of his trace to see the wide-eyed child staring with horror filled eyes.

She watched as Austin stumbled, probably unsure how to answer such a question. He seemed both taken back and a bit afraid of the question. It occurred to her he probably did not know how to answer it, or what was even an appropriate answer for a child to hear.

Then, he responded and something inside of her properly melted, "Yes, actually." Other children were listening as he leaned forward in the chair, and she instinctively reached out to grasp the back in case it rolled, "You see, I was a world class diver. I swam deep into the seas!" He used his arms to make a large gesture and then continued, "I fought many sharks in my time! Great Whites, Tigers, Bulls! But one day, I was in the water, ready to take on a shark when it came up to me… we battled! It was long and hard. We wrestled under the water, I punched him, and he pushed me! I thought I would never make it out! Soon, we came to the surface…"

She lost track of the story for a moment, too shocked to see the children in a mix of shock and excitement at the crazed tale.

She caught the end and couldn't help but laugh, "So, I told him it was a hard fought battle and though he had lost, he could have my leg. It only seemed fair. I don't need two, and then I got a pretty cool scar out of it, right?"

The little boy who asked nodded wildly and began to lift his shirt, "I got a cool scar too, mister! Look!"

Ally saw a long and jagged scar down the side of his body, to which Austin exclaimed something in return and the body nodded again, "I fell off my bike last year! It hurt very bad, and there was this piece of glass where I fell. I cried only when they took it out!" He grinned, "Did you cry when the shark took your leg?"

Austin's smile faded for a moment, and he nodded, "Yes, I did. The shark deserved to have it, but I miss it very much sometimes. I don't need both legs, but sometimes it is very handy to have two." He put a tiny smile on his face. "I get a cool chair to ride around in now, so I mean, I think I'm still doing very well." Her heart swelled at the comment and she could hear in his voice that he didn't quite believe that. Her hand reached out instinctively to squeeze his shoulder and it seemed in those seconds Austin forgot he wasn't just with children. He glanced up at Ally and she smiled down at him, and then turned back to the children. "Alright, kids. I have to go. You guys stay brave, and have fun today, okay?"

"Okay, Mister! I hope your leg grows back soon!"

The children ran off and the space cleared, allowing Austin to roll all the way up. She leaned against the display, smiling at him. "A shark, really?"

He shrugged, "They loved it, why not?"

"You were good with them."

"I wasn't prepared for the question," he admitted. "I guess it's better that a kid asked me first."

"If an adult flat out asks you, I'm punching them."

Austin snorted, "Yeah, in kitten heels?"

Ally scowled this time, "Damn it, Austin!"

He chuckled beside her and she found she could not hold her scowl. Instead, she gently shoved his shoulder and they stopped before a display of brightly colored fish. In silence, the two of them read about the tropical water animals and she felt herself relax a little. Austin had survived two awkward encounters so far and it seemed neither situation had dwindled his spirits or attempt at having a good day. Maybe she should try a little more to do the same.

"Where to next?" he said, grabbing the paper from beneath his good leg. "I feel like we have a lot to cover in a short amount of time."

Ally nodded and glanced at her own pamphlet, "We could see some of the outside attractions. There is also a sea lion show in about twenty minutes. We could watch that."

"I vote yes," he declared, and Ally jogged to keep up with him. They were soon outside in the hot Florida sun, and weaving between large groups of people, the majority parting at the sight of a wheelchair now, thankfully. Ally hurried along, realizing that she was having a hard time keeping up, also struggling to find the handicap entrance to the large dome-like attraction. Finally, with some help of an employee, they were in front of the ramp-entrance and reading signs. Many were general cautions about staying in seats, not bothering animals… there were also a couple that Ally barely glanced at, which included leaving strollers in a designated area to keep spaces neat.

Austin reached the bleacher section first, scanning the first row for the handicap sections that the employee had spoke of. Much to their dismay, since the show was starting in only ten minutes, most of the seating was covered. Ally pointed to the far left where she could see an open area. But, just as they reached it, a woman with a toddler and an expensive, large stroller pulled up. The toddler, looking as if the stroller would not be necessary (he was climbing the bleachers freely and shrieking into the general direction of the large tanks), nearly toppled into Austin twice before Ally felt the familiar urge to hurt someone.

There was still enough space for her to sit, but with the stroller in the way, Austin could not.

"I'll just ask her to move it," she told him in a quiet voice with a tight smile. "Excuse me, Miss?"

The woman looked up and Ally knew she met her match. In designer clothes and an expensive hair job stood a blonde woman clearly not amused. "Yes?"

"Can I ask that you move your stroller to the designated area down there?" She pointed to the general area. "This area is actually for wheelchairs and other handicap accessible related seating, and we would truly appreciate the space."

Before Ally could even finish her sentence the woman snapped, "Excuse me? Who the hell do you think you are? This is an expensive, brand new stroller that my son needs!" Her son was now about seven or eight bleachers high, with other parents and guests staring in shock at the unwatched child. "I will not place it down there."

Ally tried once more to be nice, knowing that Austin probably did not appreciate her normal mouth. "Miss," she tried again, "You are not supposed to have them in the attraction area. I just ask that you even move it a few feet away. This dome is very crowded and my friend does not have the ability to sit on the bleachers so his chair is necessary."

The woman quickly turned her back, "That sounds like a personal problem."

Just as Austin went to say, "Forget it Ally, we'll come to the next show—" Ally lost it. She grabbed hold of the stroller while the woman was blindly looking for her child and began to push it in the direction of the stroller area. The woman, obliviously calling out to the little boy did not notice until she was almost there. Then, she began to squawk in the most inhumane way about personal privacy and the action of theft. Security came rushing over and the two women pled their cases to two very confused employees.

Austin just hung back and from the corner of her eye, Ally could see he was mortified.

"This little bitch stole my stroller!"

"I asked her nicely twice to move it so my friend could sit—"

"I got there first!"

"You're not supposed to have it!"

The security officers finally held up their hands, and quietly began to sort out the mess. Much to Ally's surprise, the woman was asked to see herself out of the dome, stating she would have to catch the next show. Once she was done throwing a second fit, the security officer on the left turned to Ally, "I saw the majority of that. My apologies. Next time, just call one of us over immediately."

She nodded gratefully and hurried back over to Austin, who clearly did not enjoy all the attention on them. He barely looked at her as she sat down.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

He shrugged, "Next time, can we do without a giant fight?"

She nudged his shoulder gently, "I can't do small. You should know that by now."

He gave her a tiny smile, but he didn't say much else. The show started, and Ally got the feeling that the conversation wasn't over.

The show was fantastic, and Ally took the time to relax during it. There was not a single worry on her end as Austin was seated and safe, and most people's eyes were on the colorful characters that were sea lions. They laughed along with everyone else, even got splashed by one of the creatures a few times. All in all, so far, it was the best experience of the day. The two waited for most of the dome to clear out before attempting to leave, and they weren't far into the sun again when Austin asked if they could maybe stop for lunch. The way he said it made her realize he wanted more than lunch.

So, she agreed. They decided on one of the several food shops, a pizza place and got their meals. She worried as they entered the doors, as they were narrower than it looked in pictures, and when he had to wait on the line that was just as thick. Finally, they were seated in the far end of the restaurant and Austin spoke, "We need to talk."

She went to protest, but he put his hand up.

"I get it," he said first, which surprised her. "You're a nervous wreck. I'd be lying if I wasn't a little worried myself this morning." He took a sip of his soda and then smiled. "But look at us. We're doing fine. I see how far you've gone out of your way here, and I really appreciate it. But please, please calm down. You're not helping things if you're in a constant state of panic." He leaned forward against the table, as if what he was about to say might hurt her feelings, "Actually, in that kind of state, you're probably more of a danger to me."

She wanted to protest, argue with him and tell him he was wrong. But she saw the soft look in his eyes, and understood what he was saying and what he wanted from her. Besides, she'd argued with enough people in the last hour. What surprised her more than anything though was that he was aware of her nerves. She thought she was hiding it well.

It seemed as if she was more of an open book lately than she realized.

"You're handling this better than me," she finally complained. "People are making me angry. It's like they've never—"

Austin laughed a bit, "Don't worry about other people. If I want you to beat someone up, I'll tell you. In the meantime, just have fun, okay? It might be my first time out in a while, but you're not babysitting either. You can have fun too."

She managed to smile this time, "Just promise me that if something does bother you or something happens, you'll tell me."

He put his pinky out to her, "I promise."

"Okay," she replied. "Then fine. Austin and Ally's aquarium adventure is officially in the reboot stage. I hereby demand that we have all the fun we can in the next two hours!"

Ally relaxed. She let Austin take the lead, still keeping an eye on him (because that was her job and sometimes she noticed he got a little too excited) and they spent the next hour hitting as many exhibits as her legs and his wheels would let them. They saw the sharks (again, because apparently sharks were still cooler than anything else there), a giant octopus (in which Austin made about five jokes on Ally's expense), a beautiful tropical fish display that even made Ally speechless (another joke on Austin's end), and the otters (something which made her feel very happy).

"We have about an hour before we have to head back," she noted, checking her phone. "Where to next?"

"I want to pet a sting ray," he practically demanded, sounding child-like. "Let's go there next!"

He raced off and Ally followed, getting used to being left in the dust. They found the display near the back of the aquarium and surprisingly, it was quite empty for the early afternoon. Ally let Austin roll up first and leaned over herself to peer into the shallow water, a dark brown ray immediately coming up to her and flapping it's body. "Ew!" she shrieked as it soaked her shirt, to which Austin laughed hysterically. "Oh that's so gross!"

"They're like dogs, Ally," he said through a fit of giggles. "They think you're going to feed them." He reached forward to pet it gently on it's smooth head, grinning like a child as it excitedly proved him correct. She thought they were cool, but kept her distance this time as Austin reached forward to pet a white one that demanded attention as well.

The relaxation he asked for was probably the lapse in her judgment, as in those seconds, one of her worst nightmares almost came true. Austin leaned forward in his chair to pet another excited ray and the chair to slid backward on him (the wheel locks were not in place—a dumb and unnecessary mistake to make), making him stumble forward, the wet, rocky surface slippery on his unsuspecting hands. Thankfully, her reaction time was on par and she grabbed the back of the chair just in time before he would've toppled to the floor, barely clinging to the surface and the edge.

"Oh God," she murmured, carefully holding the chair with the back of one knee while she tried to get his arm with the other.

"I'm alright," he was murmuring quietly, but she could tell the event had startled him.

Together, they got him situated and Ally immediately put the locks on and surveyed his body. She could tell he was trying to mask pain and crossed her arms defensively before demanding, "Pain scale. 1 to 10, now."

"I'm fine," he mocked, rolling his eyes. "It's barely a four."

"Four?" she gasped back. His pain had been well managed the last couple of days. He'd even told the nurse that he was practically pain free that morning, so a high jump in any sort of pain made her a nervous wreck. "Austin—"

Austin put his hands up, blotted red from gripping the rocky surface so hard. "I swear, it's temporary pain from the jolt. It's already fading. I'm fine. I would tell you otherwise."

She let her blood pressure slowly return to normal levels, still mentally scolding herself for doing something as stupid as leaving the wheelchair unlocked when they were seated.

"I knew those damn things were trouble," she murmured, looking at the unaware sting rays, who continued to beg at the side of the rocky enclosure. Austin just laughed, waited for her to unlock the chair and then took off again, leaving her wondering why he was handling all of this better than she was. Still, she followed after, watching as he explored tank after tank with more enthusiasm than any child who passed them. Maybe that was it—take the world as it comes, revel in the good things, not the bad? She wasn't sure she could do that, but she'd try.

"I want to check out the top floor one last time before we go," he told her, as she jogged to keep up.

"Only if you stay away from stairs," she deadpanned back, only half kidding. He made a face but she meant what she said. Falling from a small distance would not be fun, but falling down a flight of stairs she would never be able to explain. She knew he wouldn't appreciate her watching him like a hawk, but still made a mental note as they reached the elevator to be a little more careful. By the time they reached that floor, Austin was babbling about the outdoor display that incased all kinds of insects and reptiles.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because they're bugs," she groaned. "No. I refuse to go in."

Austin made a face, "But you have to go in with me!" he whined. "I can't go in alone. Bad things could happen!"

She pointed a finger at him, "Don't try and guilt me into it. I'm not doing it. I don't like snakes, I don't like bugs, and I certainly don't want to discover what else is in those dark walls."

"Come on," he whined again. "Please?"

She put her foot down and he slumped in the chair. "You're no fun."

"Sorry," she sneered playfully and he raced off, toward the tank and the stairs. Ally groaned a second time in minutes and watched as he sped around, probably to drive her insane. There were limits to how 'nice' she could be. She didn't care if he had waited years to see the exhibit. He would have to come back with someone who was willing. There were few things that truly scared her—and creepy bugs were one of them.

"Do you want to hit the gift shop before we leave?" he asked after a few minutes of aimless wandering around. "I'd like to bring something back for my room."

"Sure," she agreed. "There's also a photo booth near there."

"What does that mean?"

"You'll see."

Ally thought a true way to prove she was trying, in terms of their friendship and in bettering his life would be a picture. It required more work on their part to get him into the photo booth (as that was not handicap accessible), but they were able to get him in, and with the insertion of several dollars, together they waited for the old fashioned machine to light up numbers and tell them to prepare. They then made silly faces, angry faces, and the like until their film was complete, each of them receiving a copy of their adventure, complete with the Miami Aquarium name across the top.

But Ally wasn't done. Beside the booth was a decorate mural of an underwater tropical scene. She stopped an employee who walked by and asked if he'd take a picture of the two of them on her phone, and with that, she stopped by his side and smiled brightly, hoping he did the same. Only when she got her phone back from the man did she see the bunny ears he'd put up behind her.

The employee chuckled, "Lucky guy you are that your girlfriend hasn't started yelling for that one yet."

At the same time, the two of them laughed awkwardly, "Oh she's not my—"

"We're not dating but—"

They both stopped, staring at each other with furrowed brows. "Thanks," Ally finally said quickly, shutting her phone off and putting it back into her pocket. "We appreciate it."

"No problem," the guy replied, though he seemed clearly amused by something. "Have a good day. Hope you enjoyed the aquarium."

They stopped in the gift shop, neither of them talking while they picked up a few things. Ally got a stuffed penguin for her bed, and Austin got a few board games and other things to do in the hospital. He also got a large calendar, and when Ally asked what he planned on doing with it, he just smiled. "You'll see."


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you for your reviews. I'm officially on break from school and am hoping to get quite a bit of writing done for both this story, and my other one. I have a few days off of work in the next couple of weeks too. Anyway, much thanks to Liz for always listening to me rant and rave and all that stuff about this story... I appreciate the heck out of you. And to DarkScribe as well, for always being open to me sending her snippets and being honest. Honestly, a lot of people always ask me for advice about writing (which has always been both super humbling and appreciative on my end... I truly hope I give good advice, but ... well you know) and that's one thing I definitely recommend. Find people, even if it's online (and I prefer that to be honest...) to bounce ideas off of, and share thoughts with, especially those who will be honest with you. You'll never improve or work through writing droughts without people. FF has given me some incredible writing friends and I owe several of my ideas in stories off me spazzily ranting and all to them. They all know who they are. And as always, I am so, so appreciative to anyone who takes the time to read or review my stories. I write because I love it and I have stories I want to tell, but most writers will also tell you that getting feedback and sharing your work is just as rewarding as writing it. Much love to all, hope you guys have a great day. :)**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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Back at the rehab center, Ally was secretly relieved that the trip was over in many ways. It proved both tiring (though fun) to do such a thing, more than she initially expected when coming to Wendy with her plan previously. Austin enjoyed himself, that was the most important part, but she was glad for the safety of the hospital and the diminished responsibility she now had.

"You never told me what you were doing with that calendar," she realized as she went through their things and Austin relaxed in the hospital bed. His features were tired and worn, something he would not admit to vocally but everyone else could see. It was exhausting for most people to spend an entire day at the aquarium, but more so for someone whose sole adventures had been up and down a hallway for the last month.

"I said you'll see," he teased quietly, eyes closed with his head leaning back on the pillow. His IV was in, slowly dripping in the first of several medications. Ally watched it for a moment, before realizing she still had quite a bit to do before she left in a half hour's time. She wanted to go over the trip with Wendy, too, and planned on putting all the things Austin had purchased around the room so that he could enjoy them. Besides, she figured a bit of quiet would do him some good. She didn't want to vocalize that she knew he needed rest, but would busy herself accomplishing two things without any bickering.

"I really think we should get the picture on my phone blown up," she commented sometime later, finally finished with unpacking. She sat down on the seat next to his bed, Austin opening one eye in time to see her lean back too. "I think it would be nice on one of the walls."

"You want to give photo proof that we're friends?" Austin mocked. "Wow, how the mighty have fallen."

"I'd hit you but I'm too tired," she muttered back.

He too laughed quietly, "Me too."

"Who would've thought we'd both be this tired?" she replied, yawning though she was secretly glad that he admitted to it. "I need to wake up. I have to drive home and meet Connor for dinner at his parent's."

"How is he?"

The two of them had discussed her boyfriend in detail one rainy afternoon earlier in the week, with the promise that if Ally spoke of him, Austin would talk more about Piper and his life before the accident. She realized both of them were loyal to the point where it was probably a little unhealthy. It was why, Austin stated, he was having such a hard time with Piper's betrayal. He would've done anything for her.

"Tired," she mused, and the two of them laughed at the irony. "I can't imagine how we're ever going to find time for each other once I actually start med school."

"You'll make it work," Austin countered. "You guys love each other."

"Yeah," she responded fondly, not missing the distant, sad look that overcame his own features in the next few seconds.

The silence that followed was only broken by the beeping of his IV machine to signal the first medication was done and the next was about to start. He had a regimen of five medications in the morning, and seven in the evening. Ally familiarized herself with them two nights before, trying to understand why each was necessary from a medical student perspective, and in turn, how they all interacted.

"You should probably get going," he realized, glancing at the clock. "Time is about up."

"I can stay," Ally insisted, knowing that Austin didn't have many visitors other than his parents and his evenings were often left with his own thoughts, something that made her think it could be quite loud mentally despite the silence in a physical sense.

"You just said that you have to meet Connor," he countered.

Ally frowned, that was true. But dinner wasn't until seven, and it was only almost five. She could stay a bit longer. With that thought on her mind, she grabbed a board game from the other side of the room, and planted herself back next to the bed.

"I can stay," she repeated. "Besides, I'm up one on this game and I'd like to make it two."

His eyes narrowed at the challenge, and Ally couldn't help but smirk as his competitive side took over. Secretly, she was glad to see him smile; glad that somehow, the two of them were getting along better than anyone would've thought.

 **From the Ground Up**

"From the test results and your son's therapy thus far, I'm sorry that I do not have a more definitive answer, Mr. and Mrs. Moon," Austin's doctor, an older man with funny shaped eyebrows and a deep voice, said, briefly looking up from the clipboard in which he held. Austin looked at his parents, his mother's watery eyes and his father's expressionless face, knowing inside that this kind of news was not in fact no news, instead bad news. The more time it took to get a true diagnosis of his condition, the more bills piled up.

"When do you think we will see results, sir?" His mother asked quietly.

The doctor shrugged. Dr. Rods was a quiet man usually, speaking in short sentences with the most concise terms. "It's hard to say. Spinal injuries are hard to diagnosis."

"What do we do?"

"We continue where we are," he added. "We have Austin seeing the physical therapist every other day and are monitoring his condition by vitals every six hours. We also are performing routine checks via test every few days to see if there has been any changes. I assure you we are doing everything in our power. There are patients that spend months in the rehab facility before the swelling goes down. It's just how it is."

The words out of his mouth made Austin's stomach drop. Of course, he knew this in some way, but seeing the agony come onto his parent's face at the explanation made him hate it even more. Somehow, he knew the coming weeks, despite whatever the outcome was, would be less than perfect. Even if he found out his injury was incomplete and a high level of function in time would return, there would be months and months of therapy to follow.

"Thank you." His mother touched his father's shoulder and all he did was nod as the medical professional left the room. Silence followed and she busied herself by moving objects around his room, leaving Austin's father to stand in the doorway looking quite out of place.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

Austin didn't know why he called out to her. He just wanted the silence to end.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. "For this."

"Oh, sweetie," she said, but then his father moved.

He closed his eyes for an extended period of time, before they opened directly on him. It was unnerving. "Are you praying?"

"What?"

"Are you praying?" he repeated.

Austin nodded, too afraid to speak. He had not prayed as much since entering the rehab facility but with the tone of his father's voice what it was, he didn't dare say otherwise. The swift nod in return did not relax him. He missed the carefree side of his father, the one who used to let him ride in the fire truck as a kid, even sometimes putting the siren on while they joy-rode. "Keep praying," he demanded, then grabbed the keys off the nearby counter. "I'll be in the car, Mimi."

The air did not change following his father's exit, and Austin was beginning to think his parents did not know what to do with him. They barely came anymore, and when they did, it was practically the same thing over and over again: pray, no Dez, Piper will come around, and the questions about when he would get to come home. He knew the majority of it was fear, but it did not feel empowering to his recovery when they seemed to hinder it.

"I'll call you tomorrow," his mother said apologetically, kissing him on the forehead and then left the room.

Austin sighed, watching as her shadow disappeared down the hallway. It was only a quarter past seven and he was alone. Visiting hours were until nine, but no one ever took advantage of the fact. He figured, glancing at the clock a second time, that Ally was at her boyfriend's parents by now, probably all dressed up in some fancy outfit with layers of make up on and hairspray keeping every hair in place. The thought brought him a tiny smile. The girl seemed to cling to her appearance as if it was the only thing she had going for her. He often teased her about it, but it bothered him. She was pre med, for god's sake! She was brilliant.

"Don't think too hard, you'll hurt your brain," came a teasing voice.

"Wow," Austin muttered, seeing Ally standing there in a pair of pajama pants and a pink t shirt. She was carrying a duffel bag on one shoulder, and a bag of take out with the other. Her appearance was quite the opposite of what his brain drew up seconds before. "What's going on?"

She chuckled at his gawking, dropping the items on the counter nearest the door. She then moved to the DVD wall and grabbed a few of his favorite horror movies, before placing them on the TV stand.

"I didn't know what you liked for Chinese, but you're a guy, so I assume you'll eat just about anything."

He didn't know what to say.

"Isn't it … you were supposed to meet Connor for dinner."

Ally nodded, "That was the plan originally." She sat on the edge of his bed, squeezing his wrist gently. He gave her a quizzical look. "I canceled, dummy. I told him that I forgot I made plans with the girls and said I'd have dinner with him next week. His parents don't mind. He doesn't mind." She smiled widely, far away if only for a moment. "He's great."

"So you came here?"

Ally giggled, "Obviously. Well, I stopped for food and dessert first. Then, I made sure I had the most comfortable pajamas and talked Wendy into letting me stay the night. The nurse on duty tonight is dating her brother. Apparently, they owed each other for something. No one is going to say a word."

" _Why_?" He couldn't figure out why she would drop plans with her boyfriend, a probable delicious meal with fancy people and a great evening. For him? Why would she, even after how well they mended their relationship, be willing to sit with him all night, if his parents and friends wouldn't even look him in the eye? Man, thinking about it alone just made him feel pathetic.

"Why not?"

"Thanks," he finally murmured, letting it sink in. He realized that her appearance saved him from another night of being alone and wondering when he'd wake up from this damn nightmare. His days were filled with friendship via Ally, the others at the facility, and the occasional story from Wendy, but the nights were hard. So, so hard.

He forced a smile on his face, trying to push away the thoughts surfacing in his head.

"I even am letting you pick one of those movies out," she stated, motioning to the stack. "One. Because I do have to draw the line somewhere."

He chuckled, "Can't completely break an old dog of bad habits."

"Dog?" she scoffed. "I think not."

"Barbie Doll?"

"Find a saying that matches that and maybe I'll allow it," she teased. "Seriously though, I brought enough food to feed an army. Pick out whatever you like and I'll bring the rest over to the staff and Jake."

He motioned for her to bring it, and he peered inside at the labeled boxes. He picked some fried rice and a couple of egg rolls. Satisfied, he saw Ally grab some soup, and what looked like steamed vegetables from the large bag, finally grabbing an egg roll before leaving the room. The sun cast pink hues through his room while he waited for her to return, the last of it's light reminding him that it would come back tomorrow.

"Did you pick a movie?"

"This one," he declared, showing her a lesser known horror movie that was known more so for its detailed plot and less for it's gore. He knew that Ally was not a fan of horror and that by allowing him to pick, he might as well try to find a happy medium. He would never admit it now, but a few weeks back when they watched the other horror movie, he picked the grossest one out of the bunch just to annoy her. Slowly, they could find a medium as friends, he figured.

"Alright." They settled into their food, sipping on soda's from a can as the movie started. He stole a glance at Ally, not dolled up with her hair tied into a loose ponytail, many strands falling into her face. Her feet were donning pink slippers. She looked like a normal everyday girl, not the high-class, rude one he met several weeks back.

Summer so far had been rocky, and he knew this night was a rarity out of many bad ones to come, but at least, as Ally squirmed beside him, he'd be able to sleep that night with a smile.

Or so he thought. After two movies, more food than he'd eaten in weeks, and a couple more board games, Ally dragged a bed into the room and put out a sleeping bag, before quickly falling asleep next to him. They opened fortune cookies before she passed out, hers saying a hard task that would require all her strength would happen soon (in which she joked it was dealing with him) and his said that being true to one's self was always important. He didn't know what that meant, but he figured vagueness these days was all the more common anyway.

Still, he went to bed with a smile on his face, much like he thought. It was just the sleeping part that didn't last. First, it started out with pain. The upper part of his back was burning intensely, enough to wake him only an hour after they passed out. He didn't want to wake Ally, especially if he had to call a nurse, so he tried to wait it out. It got unbearable first, and he almost hit the button to call someone, but then it faded. He fell back to sleep relatively quickly, and then it happened.

 _"I'm going to kick his ass," crowed Dez, a huge smile on his face, drunkenly slurring more threats to people they would probably never actually touch. It felt manly, it felt right and he allowed the redhead to continue._

 _"Me too," he demanded, shoving the laughing redhead roughly. "Kick him where the sun don't shine!"_

 _"Ha!"_

 _"What kind of jackass hurts a girl as pretty as Carrie," Dez continued, his bravado waning if only for a second, clearly realizing the girl he was so crazy for had been seriously hurt by the loud mouthed football player they were going to see._

 _"A … a real… jackass,"_ _Austin_ _countered, snickering as the alcohol spoke for him. "Wait until…"_

 _He didn't finish his statement, as there was some sort of bright object heading his—_

 _The blaring of a horn did little to stop him from hitting the other car head on, and they spiraled almost immediately after the impact. Only when he noticed brush and trees speeding past him did he realize he must not have hit the car that hard, as the truck was moving quickly still. Panic only had seconds to sit in before everything came to an alarming halt, and went black._

 _It was momentary._

 _He woke on the ground, cold and wet to Dez shaking him. "Bro, you gotta wake up. I-I think the cops are coming. Please, wake up. Wake up,_ _Austin_ _! Damn it! You can't die like this. We're supposed to be old in…" the boy broke off, sobbing._ _Austin_ _groaned, unable to wake himself from the fog enough to tell him he sounded ridiculous. Besides, he was fine. He didn't feel any pain except for his head, which was throbbing. Probably from Dez's monologue. The guy never did know when to shut up. "I'm gonna move you man," Dez stated. "I've gotta get you next to the truck. You went so far. They can't know you were driving! Your parents would freak." He snorted pathetically. "Mine won't care. They already know I'm a screw up. Just hang on bro… we're gonna be alright."_

 _He blacked out again, too soon to tell Dez he wasn't making any sense. Everything was fine. He probably just got a little concussed. He'd get up himself._

He woke with a start, panting at the memory. But was it a memory, or just a vivid dream? He had no idea what happened that night, as when he did awake, the doctors told him he sustained a serious concussion and was lucky there wasn't any permanent damage to his head.

"Are you okay?"

"Jesus," Austin panted.

Ally smiled slightly in the darkness, "I believe taking the lord's name in vain is a sin."

He gave her a pointed look, but then fell silent.

"Are you in pain? I'll call a nurse."

"No. Why aren't you sleeping?"

She sat up, "I was. You were groaning in your sleep."

He wanted to roll his eyes at his own vocals. Great. So now, Ally knew he was dreaming of something, something that obviously caused him some sort of pain.

"We can ignore it," she added after a second. "We don't have to though. I mean it. If you want to talk about it, I will. If not, I can turn my shoulder and go right back to sleep." She smiled coyly. "It's a gift."

He considered his options. "I dreamt of the accident."

"Yeah?" she asked. "What about?"

"The aftermath mostly. Dez was there. He was telling me it was going to be alright, that the police were on their way, you know, normal stuff. Then," he hesitated. He probably shouldn't mention this. Maybe Dez didn't come visit because he was in legal trouble. He was driving, so they probably arrested him for underage drinking and being intoxicated under the wheel. "What else do you know about my accident?"

"All that's in the file," she responded, furrowing her brows. "Why?"

"Did it say what happened to Dez?"

"He wasn't injured," she told him. "Remember?"

"I know," he countered. "But I mean legally. What kind of trouble did he get in I wonder?"

"Well he—" Ally froze early into her sentence. Austin gave her a look, willing her to continue. "What?"

"What?" he repeated. "You were going to say something. What?"

"Nothing," she murmured. "Nothing important."

"Ally," he demanded, seeing she was trying to cover. Ally was bad at that. It made her a bad liar, most of the time. The only time he saw her successful at it was that night at truth or dare. "What is it?"

She was only silent for a second before, "I saw Dez here. He said not to tell anyone."

"What?!"

"He's been visiting when Wendy is here. She knows, but no one else. That's all I could get out of him. He misses you," she said softly. "I've been suspecting that he knows something you don't. That's probably why your parents won't talk to you about it."

A realization came over him, "He covered for me."

"Huh?"

"He wasn't driving," Austin said, using the buttons on the side of the bed to sit up quickly. "He covered for me, that's what he meant in my dream! It wasn't a dream though, it was me remembering! He covered for me because he knew what kind of trouble it would mean for me and my future. He thinks he doesn't have one, so he took the blame. He wouldn't drive; he's terrified of driving. I know this, we both do. That's why he hasn't actually snuck in here because he knows I'd demand he tell the truth! God, how could I be so dumb?"

Before he knew it, he was hyperventilating and Ally was beside him, willing him with encouraging words to calm down and try to even his breathing. The machine next to him was only seconds from going off and alerting a nurse that something was wrong.

"Alright," Ally murmured, when he finally was able to think clearly again, "So let's say that you're right… that's a really nice move."

"Dez is my _brother_ ," Austin defended. "It makes sense. He's not avoiding me because he doesn't want to see me, he's avoiding me because he knows I'd never allow him to take the fall for me. Oh my God."

"Alright," Ally said again. "What now?"

"I don't know," he sighed, annoyed with himself and with Dez. His best friend always told him his future was small; how Austin had this great plan and set up while he'd probably end up stocking shelves. He hated how Dez often thought of himself. He knew the kid well enough to know he was probably hurting emotionally since the accident and didn't trust anyone as much as he trusted Austin. He made a note to text him the moment it was morning and make him aware he knew the truth.

His stupid heart of gold best friend.

He actually did have someone in his corner all along. But his parents would freak out if they ever found him there, so what did that mean in general? Was he going to have to deal with this situation forever like this? How could his convince his parents to see otherwise? Dez was his best friend. He needed him to get better. He wanted him there.

He glanced at Ally, who was calmly waiting for him to get his thoughts together. "I just want my life back."

Ally sat down beside him on the bed, squeezing his hand. "We'll get there."

He sat like that for a few more minutes, trying to process all of what they just discovered. Then Ally, glancing at the time gently hit the button beside his bed, watching as he was eased onto his back. She sat down next to him a second time, squeezing his hand with a tired, but supportive smile on her face. She fixed the blankets, and if the fear and worry wasn't enough weighing down on him, the exhaustion was more than enough to stop him from making a motherly joke.

Instead, he squeezed back. "Thank you for coming tonight."

"I wanted to," she stated. "I know I'm far from Dez, but it has to get scary sitting here all alone."

He didn't answer her sentence. His eyelids answered for him, lulling him back to sleep.

He woke a few hours later, the sun casting morning glow spots through the room. The bed in which Ally slept on was long gone, as were her bags and other belongings. He almost thought she went home and would be back later when she entered the room, holding breakfast food from outside of the center and a few assortments of drinks. She grinned, bringing the food over to the counter. Without any words, she helped him sit up and he saw her also wordlessly look over his body for any signs of discomfort. He was shocked that despite the late night chat which kept them up, he felt pretty good.

"I feel fine," he assured her. He made a face, "Well, as fine as you can be like this."

Ally smiled widely, but did not laugh. They joked about his condition now, but he knew she knew that the jokes were only a mechanism to hide how he truly felt about all of it. At least, that's what he gathered. "I picked out a few different things on the menu at the deli. Take whatever you like. I wasn't sure if you could have coffee and its hard enough sneaking food in, so I didn't ask."

He shrugged, "Not my favorite thing. This is great. Thanks."

"There's talk about a few new patients coming in today." Ally reached for a napkin and sat down on the edge of the bed, taking a sip of her coffee. "I heard Wendy talking about a blind guy, and a girl who's got some kind of muscular disease."

"Oh," he nodded as he ate, not sure what to say to that. He knew Ally wasn't the best social person, and honestly, it was enough to try and keep up with Jake and Cassidy. As much as he didn't want to be alone, there was something less than welcoming about meeting more people who were either as less fortunate as you health wise, or worse off.

"Not wanting to join the welcome committee?" she mused, giving him a teasing smile.

"I don't think so," he joked lamely back. "I would love to hear from Dez."

She set down her drink at the sound of his request. "I can try to make something happen. Your parents don't come in until after I leave, right? If I can somehow get in contact with him before that, he could come when Wendy was here and visit you. I mean, by now, I'm sure he's got enough nerves to make it somewhat hard for him to come, but if your friendship is as great as you make it sound, I'm sure at the drop of a dime, he'd be here."

Austin nodded vigorously, "He would. You would do that?"

"Yeah." She gave him a curious look, and then smiled. "Besides, he seemed even weirder than you. I can only imagine how you too became friends."

"I would protest that, but you're right. He's super weird. But he's a good guy. He'd do anything for someone he cares about." Austin bitterly looked down at his useless legs. "Obviously."

"Great, I'll make the—"

Ally held up her finger at the sound of her phone ringing, though the confusion on her face mirrored his thoughts. It was barely eight am; who would be calling her this early?

"Hold on. Hello? Hi Mrs. Shore… what? Wait, what?! Slow down, I can barely understand what you're saying. You're not making any sense. What's going on? Is everything okay? Where is Connor, can I talk to—"

Ally's face lost all of its color.

"When? Why are you just calling me now?" she asked shrilly. "I'll be there soon. Alright. Bye."

The phone bleeped down, and Austin started to ask what was the matter when Ally burst into loud, panicked tears. "I need to go. I'm so sorry. There's been an accident."

"Ally?" he asked in alarm. "What's going on?"

She already was up, gathering her things while she muttered apologizes and making it up to him. He didn't understand, but he wouldn't let her leave the room without explaining whatever she was going through. Stuck in bed though, he desperately reached out and grabbed her hand as she tossed her forgotten coffee into the garbage, stopping her short.

"Talk to me," he whispered.

Her eyes were already bloodshot. "Connor was in a car accident late last night."


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you for your reviews. I truly appreciate hearing what you have to say. :) I'm introducing a new character in this chapter who will be important in many ways, but is also a bit of a comedic relief at the same time. I think you'll enjoy him.**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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Austin didn't know what to do once Ally was gone. He was not used to spending his days alone, and her absence was felt almost immediately. As much as he'd grown much more mobile over the last few weeks, it was still a pain in the ass for him to transfer from the bed to the chair by himself. He was worried about Ally, too. Her boyfriend having been in a wreck made her emotionally compromised, and seeing Ally cry was like seeing it snow in Los Angeles – maybe not impossible, but highly, highly unlikely.

He needed _someone_ to talk to. He realized in those moments alone, he really didn't have anyone but her, and he knew better than calling so soon after she left for an update. A part of him laughed at the thought – why would she update Austin when she was probably spending her time with her injured boyfriend?

A sense of alarm came over him. When Connor left the hospital, he would probably need some level of care. Probably had a broken bone or two, maybe a concussion… she would spend all her time with him, which he supposed was warranted. The thought sent him into overdrive, and he stared blankly at the door. He didn't know how or when she became so important to him, but he'd do anything to hear her voice right then, not only for himself, but for her, too.

 **From the Ground Up**

Ally rushed through the doors of the emergency room, glancing wildly for any familiar face that could lead her to her boyfriend. His mother had been less than informative via phone call, only shrilly sobbing sentences about how he was in an accident after midnight and was fighting for his life in surgery. Ally barreled forward to the information desk, asking immediately for his condition.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but if you're not family, I cannot give you that info."

Ally nearly burst. "Excuse me? I'm his girlfriend. His mom called me! Just tell me where to go."

"I'm going to have to ask you to calm down. Screaming won't solve problems dear."

"Listen here," she snarled, not in the mood to deal with some middle-aged man's "complimentary" words. "My name is Ally Dawson. My father is Chief-of-Trauma here. His name is Lester Dawson. I will ask one more time for my boyfriend's location, or so help me, you will _not_ have a job by tomorrow."

" _Miss_ —"

"Ally?"

Ally whipped around at the sound of Connor's brother's voice, running immediately from the desk to his arms. "What happened? Where is he? What…?"

"Shh," the older male whispered. "Hey, calm down. I can't talk to you if you're hysterical."

"Sorry," she murmured, knowing better. She would have to keep her emotions in check one day, no matter who she was dealing with or speaking to. But this was her boyfriend! Regardless, Oliver was like Connor. He was only a few months from graduating law school and passing the bar. He worked by logic, not emotions. "Your mom wasn't making much sense. I just need to know if he's okay."

Oliver led her over to a seat, and she finally got a good look at the older male. His eyes were bloodshot, and his usually very collected exterior showed clear signs of lack of sleep. A wrinkled dress shirt, missing a tie, and a pair of slacks that had a coffee stain on one leg. "It happened just after we were leaving dinner. I thought it was dumb that we all took separate cars, but he insisted on driving as he was afraid that you'd call and he'd need to come pick you up. I don't know why. So, we left… it was some asshole driving drunk. Scum went through the light and t-boned him, Alls. He was conscious when I ran from my car to him, but it's bad. Real bad."

"Tell me."

He looked darkly at the doors, "Your father is doing the surgery."

"Surgery?"

"His main artery was severed internally. The damage is vast. He also sustained one collapsed lung, two broken legs, and a concussion. When I got to him, he wasn't making much sense. He kept asking if you were okay, but I told him that you didn't come. He didn't understand. He was screaming in agony by the time the police arrived. I didn't know what to do," the dark haired male sighed, "Its times like this I wish I pursued something medical. Maybe I could've helped."

"How long has he been in surgery?"

"The punctured lung happened because of a rib. The rib detached and severed the artery. This happened around three am; they didn't catch it until he started to cough up blood. They say it's a miracle he even made it onto the table. We haven't heard anything else. Your father came in as soon as he was asked to. I'd say he's been in surgery for about three hours."

"God," she murmured. "I… I…" She dissolved into tears again. "I was supposed to be in that car, Ollie."

"Be thankful that you weren't," he answered. "You would've been just as bad."

"He shouldn't be alone," she sobbed, thinking about her sweet boyfriend, whose only goal in life was to go into law to make the world better for everyone. He didn't deserve this. She should've been there… maybe she could've done something. He was probably so scared… and for Ollie to witness it. She glanced at him… stoic as ever.

"Come on. We'll go up. My parents are waiting up there. Maybe there is news."

Ally followed his brother to the elevators, and to the floor in which families waited for news on surgery. There she united with his parents, cried some more in their shoulder and stared at the doors numbly that would lead to her boyfriend. Her boyfriend who was fighting for his life; at least she knew he was in great hands.

"Do you want coffee?"

Ally shook her head, thinking about the coffee she left on Austin's table. "No thank you. I'm okay."

As an hour passed, Ally's feelings intensified. With no news, her mind was left to wander, which did nothing but add to the fear she felt. A text from Austin came through somewhere in between there, but she didn't have the heart to explain or even answer. She knew he was just worried about her, but her eyes never left the door.

 **From the Ground Up**

Hours passed in the rehab center, and Austin was slowly losing his mind. Ally hadn't answered her texts, though he supposed she probably was more focused on her boyfriend. It left him wondering how she was doing and if she was okay. He left his bed sometime after that, wandering down the hall in search of something to do. Jake was out for the day with Cassidy, leaving him making small talk with another teen who got hurt playing a sport, someone who was nice enough, but he just didn't feel like talking to.

The kid left just before lunch, and Austin was relieved.

"Kid sure talks a lot."

Austin turned around to see a blond guy sitting on the couch next to him, smirking at his own comment. He was tall and kind of lanky, with crisp, almost electric green eyes and a crooked smile.

"Yeah. Guess so. I'm kind of glad he's gone." He wasn't too sure what to say to the kid, more so dumbfounded that he was there all along and he didn't notice him.

"I'm sure. He couldn't even tell how bored you were." He raised a brow at the comment. How could the guy even tell if he was bored, sitting behind him?

"Why didn't you intervene?" Austin asked, curious since he had no problem sharing his opinion now. The confidence he displayed told him that he was probably a mouthy kid.

He made a wide motion with his hand, leaning forward far enough that Austin thought he might fall. "I'm kind of confined to this couch until Nurse Wendy comes back. She seems a little intimidating. I didn't want to disobey her."

"She's harmless. Best get your way with her early and you'll never have a problem here again."

"Noted," the blond laughed. "Sorry, didn't introduce myself. I'm Warren."

"Interesting name. You new?"

"Yep. And you are?"

"Austin, not so new."

There was a silence, and Austin remembered Ally's comments about new kids coming in. He wondered if this kid was one of them, when he suddenly stuck out his hand, nowhere near where Austin was sitting. He realized immediately which new kid it was, and the lack of sleep and pain drugs got the better of him. "You're the blind guy," he blurted, then immediately cringed. "Shit. Sorry. That was probably the worst thing I could ever say."

"Well, it wasn't wrong. I _am_ the blind guy." He paused. "You sound fine, so I'm going to assume your brain is intact. What's your problem?"

Austin liked his humor, "Mine? Oh, just sliced off my leg and decided that I shouldn't use my other one ever again either." He was enjoying the banter; it almost reminded him of his time with Dez. There was a great deal to be said about being with guys your age; he truly loved spending time with Ally now, but she was a girl after all.

It made less sense when he said it, he realized coming back into the conversation from his thoughts, and Warren just kept a blank look on his face. Maybe he should let the other guy stick to the sarcastic humor.

"I'm paralyzed, at least temporarily. I also lost my leg. That's not temporary."

"That would be pretty damn cool if it was. Would you be offended if I asked how?" Austin had a feeling even if he was offended; it wouldn't have stopped the kid. His thinking was quick and his tongue was even sharper.

"Nah. It was a car accident. What about you?" He didn't need to mention the other defining factors in which he actually lost them. Making friends was hard these days; it wasn't like he needed to know.

Warren shifted on the couch, giving a slight smile. "I got hit perfectly in the head so that my eyes themselves are fine, but my brain is screwed."

"How'd you do that?"

"You know how they say that BMX is a dangerous sport?"

"Yeah?"

Warren grinned, "BMX is a dangerous sport."

"I'm sorry."

Just as he was about to respond, Nurse Wendy came into the room. "Ah, I see you've found Austin, Warren. I recommend you spend your time with him. He'll keep you in check." He frowned at her she ruffled his hair, almost jealous that the nurse was being as kind to him as she frequently was to Austin. He always got the impression that he was special.

"He's quiet, Nurse Wendy. I bet he's pouting. Is he?"

The woman's eyes twinkled. "Oh, that is one way to describe the look on his face right now." She helped Warren stand, and then placed his hand on the back of her elbow, whispering something into his ear. He saw his confidence falter, if only for a second, then the grin was back. "Follow along Austin, and don't you worry that pretty little head of yours, you're still my favorite."

"What she means to say is that you're her favorite right now, but I am definitely in the running."

Two could play at that game. "You just got here."

"And I've already made my mark," he teased.

He was about to respond when Warren's knees buckled, and Nurse Wendy proved why she was fantastic at her job by catching him in seconds. "Warren?" she said softly, as if Austin wasn't sitting helplessly beside her, unable to help in any way. "Dizzy spell, sweetie?"

"Yeah," he murmured, voice barely audible to Austin's ears. He was curious to what they meant for the blond teenager, but knew it was not the right thing to ask then. Instead, he just stared, thankful that he couldn't see.

"Can you get up, or do you want me to get a chair?"

He shook his head slowly. "I'm alright. Just give me a second."

It all seemed alright in the following seconds, and Warren even made an attempt to stand before he collapsed a second time, grabbing at his head. Nurse Wendy glanced briefly at Austin, before immediately crouching in front of the other patient and tried to help. "Alright, sweetie. I don't think you're going to get away without some pain this time. Stay here one second. I'm going to get you a wheelchair and I'll put in an order for some meds. Try to breathe evenly."

He breathed heavily through his nose, and oddly, as the nurse disappeared, he glanced in Austin's direction, "You still here?" His voice was thick with pain and Austin wondered if he should just remain frozen and not say anything, but it seemed rude.

"Yeah, what's going on?"

He squeezed his eyes shut, "It's supposedly called… post-concussion syndrome. Sometimes when you get… hit in the head hard enough, you can mimic some of the symptoms… for a while after. I get dizzy spells… and ugh!" He cut off, curling into his body.

"Hey," Austin said, feeling panicked that Nurse Wendy hadn't come back yet. Warren continued to writhe in pain, kicking his feet on the floor. "Try and breathe like she said. It helps! I get a lot of pain from my injury too."

Nurse Wendy came back, instead of a wheelchair she had a portable bed. She helped Warren stand, if only long enough to collapse onto the bed and be wheeled away. Austin watched for some time until he was sure he was alone, and then quietly wheeled himself into his own room, wondering how someone could go from so confident and loud, to so small and weak in seconds.

The introduction of Warren was enough to get Austin's mind off Ally for a while, but back in his room, he found he was back to thinking about her and Connor. It was nearly one pm and he hadn't heard from her, though a part of him thought that maybe he was not one of the people she would call to give an update too. Another part of him said to not be silly, they had made such progress as friends over the last couple of weeks and she cared for him. It was a stressful time and he was sure that she was probably just overwhelmed.

Still, he sent her another text and then closed his phone, wondering what to do.

He sat like that for nearly an hour, growing uncomfortable in the chair but not enough to transfer back to the bed. He didn't sleep well the night before (or the one before that, quite frankly) and he knew part of it was because of the events, yet he couldn't force himself to take a nap.

Instead, he made his way back into the hallway, on a mission to find Warren's room and see how he was doing. It was hard to figure out which was his, despite knowing the majority of the teens in the center. Finally, he found a last name on a door that he was sure he didn't recognize, then wheeled into the dark room, noticing a lump curled up on the bed, facing the other direction.

He was about to exit, figuring he was knocked out from some kind of med when his voice quietly asked, "Austin?"

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked, shocked.

"Your wheels make a funny noise," he responded, clearly exhausted.

"Oh. I was coming to see how you were doing."

"Okay," came the reply, gone was the cocky attitude, replaced with fear and what he assumed was sleep deprivation. "I've only been dealing with all of this a week. The doctors say this kind of thing could last months. They can't tell when it's going to happen, and even when it starts, it takes at least an hour for the meds to kick in."

"Sucks. I can leave. I'm sure you want to rest."

"Nah," he murmured, slowly sitting up. He didn't miss how he grabbed the side of the bed to steady himself. "Don't go. I haven't really seen much of anyone since the accident. My friends are avoiding me. They seem to think they can catch this or something. Dumb bikers."

"I know how that feels."

Warren leaned his legs over the bed, slowly standing up. Austin saw him waver, and for a second, he thought he might fall, and he silently prayed that didn't happen because being in a wheelchair meant he was practically useless. He eventually steadied. "I might puke on you, just so you know. My stomach is doing some crazy crap right now."

"I'd prefer not," Austin muttered, hoping he was kidding. "You know how hard it is to shower like this?"

Warren laughed, though it clearly hurt. "Fair enough. Can I like grab onto the back of your chair or something?"

"Why?"

The tall blond made a face. "I want to leave the room."

He felt an odd sense of déjà vu back to when he first met Ally, then shrugged his shoulders. Again, feeling like an idiot, he verbally added, "I don't think I'm much of a guide."

"Just need to get out," he murmured a second time. "Can we go to your room?"

"Sure."

"You seem preoccupied."

"It's a long story," Austin said tiredly.

There was a soft chuckle from behind him, and he felt the tug of the extra weight on his chair, regardless of how light it was from Warren's hold. The blond teenager who could still walk did not say a word, as if the sentence in which Austin spoke previously did not matter and he still expected to hear of it. "It is not like we have a place to go or people to see," finally came the chide heavy response.

"There are a few people here who have… friends, I guess? We have soon to be med students who are completing internships here over the summer. I have a girl named Ally and a few others have made friends with theirs as well. Ally's boyfriend was in a really bad car accident last night. She left early this morning after we heard about it and I haven't heard from her since. I'm worried about her; I know it's stupid to expect a response when she's probably going through hell, but it would be nice to hear something at this point."

"I would think that no news is good news."

"I guess. Doesn't make me feel any better. There's a part of me that feels like maybe our friendship isn't that important and she's probably seen the messages and doesn't care to answer." Austin bit down on his lip, surprised by how honest he was being with someone he barely knew, someone who didn't seem like the advice giving type. Still, Warren didn't say much in response, though he had a thoughtful look on his face.

"I know that my younger brother got a ton of texts and phone calls after my accident. He didn't answer a single one of them; it's overwhelming to try and get to everyone."

He didn't think of it that way. Warren was right; Ally probably had all kinds of people trying to contact her and ask about her boyfriend's condition. She was probably overwhelmed by it all and just wanted to be with him. He understood that; back when he first woke up in the hospital, his parents were dealing with the same. He glanced at the quiet blind male across the room from him, sitting in Ally's original chair. He never would've put it into that perspective.

"You're welcome." He flicked his hair from his face, though the pleased smile vanished. "Hard to believe that this'll be my summer. At least I won't spend it alone now. You seem okay."

Austin had to laugh at that, "Oh man. You're right about one thing. Summer just got a hell of a lot more interesting than it was before."


	16. Chapter 16

**Wow, I am so sorry for the wait in this chapter. I thank everyone who has reviewed and commented in the meantime and I promise that the updates will be more frequent from here on. Its been a long couple of months, but I hope that this chapter was worth the wait. I'm really proud of the ending, mainly because it took me forever to write and I think it turned out just how it should have. :)**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

* * *

The night had arrived and Ally found herself leaving the hospital, suffocating from the lack of news. She told his brother to call if there was an update, then took her car and drove down one the scenic routes, watching the stars become brighter as the lights diminished. Her mind was racing with thoughts, unable to calm itself down or properly form anything worth a damn. She stopped at a beach she frequented with her friends, parking the car and walking to the shore, staring off at the darkened waves, wondering why people, herself included, came to the beach when they were stressed.

It was stupid. The water couldn't talk, neither could the sky. She was alone and scared, no one to tell her how to fix something that truly wasn't in her control. Helpless as a soon to be medical student, she felt as if she should be able to do something other than sit in a chair and wait for an answer she feared, but there she was, running from that exact thing and trying to comfort herself.

How selfish.

It seemed fitting that someone like herself was alone in a time like this. She knew she had countless texts from friends and Connor's friends alike, but she couldn't answer them. While their concern was both reassuring and understanding, she didn't want anyone else to try and talk to her. Oliver was the level headed one in his family, in a sense that everything had a reason and a purpose and nothing ever had emotion. It was great other times, but the constant blaring of his black and white opinions were the furthest thing from what anyone needed.

Herself included.

Ally sat down on the sand, digging her fingers into the moist grit until she couldn't see them anymore, knowing that being alone was probably more dangerous than she realized.

"I don't mean to scare you, but I just thought you looked like you could use someone to talk to."

Ally couldn't have been more shocked to look up and see the redhead standing above her. He sat down without waiting for an answer, giving her a weak smile at the sight of her bulging eyes.

"I live down the road from here," he stated, figuring that walking up to her in the middle of a dark beach was seriously creepy and borderline police-calling worthy. "I walk the beach at night. It's the only thing I've got left at this point. My parents work nights so they never realize I've left the house and… you don't care."

"No," she admitted.

"Are you okay?"

"No."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

" _No_." She glanced back at him, seeing his hurt expression and sighed. She knew she could trust Austin on that he was a good guy, but she still was sitting on a dark beach with an unfamiliar guy while her entire world was upside down. Give her a break, damn it. The constant questions were not helping things. "I don't know you and I'm not really sure I even can explain right now."

"Fair enough."

She knew she was being rude and the Austin inside of her head reprimanded her, especially considering it was his best friend sitting beside her, trying to be a decent person and help someone who probably looked less than normal. "Sorry," she finally replied, her voice less than that and she thought maybe she should stay quiet.

"I can sit here in silence. It's all good."

Ally appreciated that and somehow, his presence did give her some peace in the following minutes. He stayed true to what he said but his movements did more talking for him, as he constantly fidgeted and checked his phone, as if sitting still was an impossible task even for a second. Finally, she gave him a heavy sigh, a signal that he was heading back into that annoying territory.

"I don't do silence well," he admitted.

"My boyfriend was in a car accident."

She had no idea why she said it, or why she turned her body to face him head on. She was surprised when he didn't say a single word, especially following the previous statement and only waited for her to continue. Except, she didn't know what to say next, as it was a pretty definitive statement.

"A bad one. He's been in surgery for hours. Without an update."

There was a rush from the ocean, sending thunderous waves crashing onto the shore. They watched in unison as the waves dissipated into foam, leaving particles from their travels before heading back into the large body of water. Above them, the perfectly clear sky demanded attention too as its stars danced to the night's sounds; sounds such as the crickets near by, an owl looking to out do the insects, and the very distant sound of music on the horizon from beach homes some miles away.

This was Austin territory. Nature and all it had to offer. Somewhere in the back of her mind he was telling her stories about his adventures of his time on the beach. He looked like a surfer; she wondered if he ever attempted the sport before. Hurricanes were probably masterpieces to watch for someone to craved the adrenaline of storms… the thoughts mused through her head, and she came to a realization. Sitting there, quietly, she understood why she came to that setting; it finally calmed her… he calmed her.

"I'm sorry," Dez replied, giving her a tight smile. "I know those are the most empty words to hear at a time like this."

"Thought that counts, right?"

He shifted his weight on the sand, so that he too was completely facing her now. "I dunno. I tried to be thoughtful and it got me into a lot of trouble."

The admittance to what she assumed was the night of their accident would have been fascinating and worthy of a long discussion. Before she could even attempt to reply, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Alarmed, she stared wide-eyed at the redhead, knowing more than likely the person on the other line would be updating her on Connor's condition. "Excuse me," she murmured, getting up to find a bit of privacy and take the call.

She wished she never picked up the phone.

 **From the Ground Up**

When the next morning arrived and Austin woke up just after nine and Ally was not yet there, he knew the situation with her boyfriend was worse than anyone originally thought. He eased himself into a sitting position, muscles sore from a previous day's work in the rehab room, wishing she was there to help him get into his chair. Still, she was never late and her lack of appearance meant he had to find Wendy. Tired of waiting around, someone had to find out what was happening on her end. While she might be busy, he needed answers for his own sanity.

Damn legs, he thought in anger, if you only would work, this would be a hell of a lot easier! With her presence, it grew easier to forget where he was and why he was there. Oddly, they worked as a well oiled machine… you took one part away, and everything combusted.

By the time he was able to shift from bed to chair, his body was already exhausted. Annoyed on top of worried, he hurried down the hall and saw the nurses all talking at the main station, laughing and gossiping as they usually did in the mornings while it was still quiet and their patients were dozing.

"Austin!" Wendy greeted warmly—and he resisted the urge to yell down the hall to Warren that he was the favorite—coming over to adjust something on his chair. "Good morning. How did you sleep?"

He knew she was aware that therapy kicked his ass last night and he was grateful for her thoughtfulness. Shrugging, he played it off as if it were nothing; he had more important things to attend to and could deal with the issues plaguing his body later. "Fine. Did Ally call?"

"No, why?" The woman then realized, "She's not here yet. Is everything okay?"

"I don't think so," he admitted. "She left early yesterday saying that her boyfriend was in a car accident. She hasn't answered any of my texts or calls. I'm worried."

"I can ask around," she said in a quieter voice, looking briefly at several young nurses he knew tended to gossip more frequently, and he was again grateful for the nurse in front of him for not being so showy. "I have friends at the main hospital. They can get the information for me. You haven't heard anything? I wonder if she called out to my boss this morning."

"I don't know," he murmured. Ally more than likely didn't, he reasoned internally. She wouldn't care enough to do that, her mind probably on more pressing matters. "I just would—"

The blond trailed off, seeing the last person he ever thought he would coming his direction. His heart jumped from his chest into his throat and his eyes welled—damn it—at the sight of him. Austin wanted nothing more in those seconds to be able to walk—no, run—to the redhead making his way down the hall. "No way."

"Dez?" Wendy whispered, as he neared them. She turned her body as if Austin hadn't already seen him and was well aware of his presence. "I thought we were going to—"

He didn't let her finish, "I'm done hiding. Life is too short, and I really need to talk to my best friend."

Maybe it was something in his tone, or maybe she understood how important it was for two best friends to be together in a time like this, but Wendy didn't argue. She did step aside and give both of them a warning look, one neither of them truly took in because they were too busy awkwardly trying to start a very long awaited conversation, one now plagued with confusion, hurt, and probably more fear than either would like to admit.

"I'm so sorry," Dez finally blubbered, and threw his arms around Austin's torso, hugging him so tightly that he swore he felt it from below his shoulder blades. Wishful thinking or not, he gripped him right back, not trusting his voice to speak just let. He wanted to relish in this moment, a pride in his heart swelling because he knew deep down that Dez would never abandon him at a time like this and truly was trying to protect him. "I couldn't let you—"

"Let's go somewhere more private," Austin quietly advised, seeing both Wendy and the other nurses eyeing them with curiosity. "My room is just down the hall."

"I know where it is," Dez admitted. He seemed to ignore the amused smile Austin shot his way, and if things were normal he would've probably cracked a joke. His friend's voice shook each time he spoke, and he didn't want anything to go out of context until everything was smoothed over.

They entered and he saw Dez glance briefly over the room, taking in the decorations and general happiness Ally and her friends tried to bring to the plain white walls. It did not have the level of quirky or downright weird that it would have had Dez took that job, but the appreciation was clear.

"I know everything," Austin finally stated, then shook his head. "Okay, not everything. But Ally and I have figured a lot of it out. I know what you did."

Dez whirled around, already on the defense, "I had to, Austin. You would have lost everything! You would've been left with absolutely nothing and I couldn't have that."

He smiled at him ruefully, "I think I sort of lost everything anyway."

"That's not true!" Dez cried back, his voice rising in the way it normally did when he was trying to make a point. "I got into the legal trouble; it's on my record."

"I'm talking otherwise," Austin responded, this time his voice much softer. "Don't take what I'm saying the wrong way, Dez. I appreciate what you did more than I could ever put into words—no matter how stupid it was." He went to protest, but Austin held up a hand. "We can talk about that later," he advised, growing annoyed with how little the redhead seemed to care for his own personal life. "I am saying that I lost a lot regardless. Beyond physically, I lost my freedom, I lost this summer… I lost Piper," he murmured, closing his eyes for just a second. "My parents… you."

He shook his head vigorously, "You never lost me! Wendy made sure I got updates and… I swear, I know it seems like it… but I never stopped caring."

"No, no," he defended. "That's not what I mean. I know that I never lost you in that sense, but I lost you in a physical sense… I lost the one person I know who I could count on, the one person who would make days like these so, so much easier." He took a deep breath. "You're more than a best friend to me, Dez. You're practically my brother and it's been a long ass two months without you."

"I'll make it up to you," he decided brightly. "Show you all that you've missed. And don't worry about Piper… she isn't worth your time. I saw her a couple weeks ago. She blamed me… like everyone has, but she also proved just how shallow she really is. I never would've expected it from her. But you have Ally now! Oh shit, Ally! That's part of why I came."

Austin leaned forward in his chair, ears perked at the mention of the brunette girl he'd been missing. What could his goofy best friend possibly know about her? "There's been an accident, Dez. It's not the time. I know you two ran into each other a while back but…"

"No! I saw her last night. She was by my house." He shook his head sadly. "She was a mess last night. I'm not very good at consoling anyone." He looked up with hopeful eyes. "I mean, I tried. But there's a reason half of our grade was in love with you, and not me. I suck at wooing the ladies." Austin chuckled, but didn't get a chance to respond. "I promised her I'd come today last night after she got the call. She ran off just after that, but I made that promise and swore I'd keep it."

"What call? What do you mean?"

He sighed, coming over to sit on Austin's bed. Dez lacked the concentration to sit still completely, but also knew his pacing sometimes drove Austin nuts. "Her boyfriend died during surgery last night, Austin." His jaw dropped. "She ran off before I could do much else, but she made me promise that I'd come see you and not let anyone get between our friendship anymore. That life was too short."

He glanced out the window at the city of Miami, the same window the both of them shared many stories over, and hopes and fears of their lives. Ally was somewhere out there. A part of him wanted to curse her… he knew that she was absolutely tore up inside. If anything, wherever she was he realized she was probably alone. Ally revealed that her parents worked long hours between the hospital and her mother's own practice. Her house was almost always empty unless there was some maintenance worker there. He prayed that her friends knew what was going on and came after her, but with her sharp tongue she probably had the ability to make sure no one came looking.

Despite this, he saw the deeper meaning behind her attempts to mend the boys' friendship… whatever she was going through, she couldn't be there with him. Ally might divert into her old ways, but she cared enough to look after him. She knew how alone he was, and she didn't want him to be in that headspace. Somehow, in the last month, they became closer than he ever realized, and in those moments, he would do anything to return the favor.

 **From the Ground Up**

"You haven't said much in the last few minutes," Dez sputtered helplessly, wondering what his best friend was thinking near the window, eyes clouded over, perhaps his body in the room but mind somewhere halfway across the city. The anxiety running through him—like chemical caffeine—did not mix well with the silence. He didn't do silence suitably—much like he told Ally last night, and it was worse considering he hadn't seen Austin face-to-face in nearly two months. A part of him was relentlessly vexed that his best friend hated him, and the other part battled to not freak out because the situation was just too overwhelming.

The blond teenager's eyes flicked over to him, and Dez swallowed the lump in his throat. Coming to the rehab facility took a lot out of him; he didn't know what to expect when he marched up to the second floor fueled with adrenaline and a friendship bond and definitely hadn't expected Austin to be sitting near the nurses' station. It probably was the best thing that could have happened he reasoned internally, knowing that if he needed to enter Austin's room and reveal himself instead, he would probably still be outside. It wasn't his fault, at least somewhere in his mind he knew, that he wasn't around for Austin's worst days.

His best friend's parents hated him, he'd spent a night or two in jail, and the local newspaper about lived outside of his house. There were few days he didn't walk outside and someone not question him, snarl vicious remarks, or cast threats of bodily harm his direction. Austin was the poster boy of their neighborhood (even if he didn't know it), after all. His father was well-respected in the church and as a firefighter for the city, he practically grew up with everyone around him. They saw the blond as the sweet, lovable boy who was set for great big things, even if Austin himself never seemed ready for whatever that might be.

"You are uncharacteristically quiet yourself," Austin stated.

Dez grinned slightly, shrugging his shoulders so that he could try to start off his explanation with at least one pure thought. "I don't even know where to begin."

"I'd say the beginning, but I'm not sure where that is."

"Well, you see, about eighteen years ago, there were these two new parents who couldn't decide on a name for their baby boy…"

This seemed to crack the heavy atmosphere and the two friends laughed, the redhead momentarily taken out of the spotlight by request of Austin's questions. He leaned over the bed, staring sadly at his friend's deteriorated body. If anything, he wished he could take the actions of that night back, stop the two of them from getting into that truck and being masculine fools. It certainly didn't help his love life anyway, that was pretty much wrecked by the accident too. Carrie wouldn't even look him in the eye.

"Did Ally say anything else before she ran off last night?"

Dez watched Austin's face as he asked the question, saw the obvious and well known signs his friend showcased while trying to hide emotions from everyone else. "Not much. She was really upset, as you might guess. I tried to follow after her, but she got into her car and her rear lights were gone before I could keep up." He was curious to how Ally came into his life, mainly because the girl seemed to have a way about her. "I know how you guys met, but you seem to be opposites in every way."

His best friend snorted, "You have no idea, man. I was sure that I was gonna take this chair and run her over with it."

Dez raised his eyebrows. "That bad?"

"It seems more like a show now that I've really gotten to know her. I've never admitted that to her though. She just absolutely rock solid sometimes. I thought it might've been true at first, but she's softened a lot. Her parents are both big-time doctors. I think she was raised by them from a distance, so she never really had someone to give her that kind of emotion."

"Like being raised by a nanny?"

"Similar, I guess. Even a nanny shows a kid love, you know? She can be very cold when she wants to be."

He thought back to her short answers and lack of feeling in her returns, noticing himself how cut off she was. He assumed it had to do with the situation, but never would've thought it was just how she was with strangers. He shook his head at the thought, what a sad way to go about your life.

"I wonder where she is."

Austin gave him a grave look, one that he felt from across the room. "I'm worried about her. I just hope wherever she is, she's not alone."

 **From the Ground Up**

Austin could not take the voice in his head once Dez left the room. His best friend did not want to get caught by his parents, despite Austin's assurances that they would not show their faces anytime soon. There was still much to catch up on in each other's lives, and he realized the redhead did not know how strained his relationship with them was. Still, sitting alone left him with only the thoughts of Ally, and he rolled over to his dresser to grab his phone, staring at the lit up screen for several minutes before he worked up the nerve to call her.

The phone rang and went to voicemail, not that it surprised him. He knew the chances of her answering it were slim, though there was a small part that hoped he was different enough that she'd be willing to answer. He waited through her girly voicemail and then heard the beep. He took a deep breath and then began to speak.

"Ally, I know you're going through hell. I know a phone call isn't going to change that. I just know what I felt following the accident, how shitty it was to be alone. Your thoughts will consume you and it makes everything worse. I speak from experience there. And I'm not saying that I get what you're going through—because it's two different things and I just want you to know I'm here—and we both know I'm not going anywhere, so come by any time. I mean it. You don't have to talk. I won't either. I just want to know you're okay and I can't come to you, so I just… alright. I'm going to shut up. Please, I'm so sorry but I … don't know what else to say. I know how superficial anyone's words seem at a time like this. I really just wanted to say from one friend to another, I care."

He hung up the phone and wrung his hands together, using his upper body to shift the weight of his lower body over. It was only the middle of the day and there was not much to do. He didn't have any appointments to get to, or anyone to entertain him. Ally would still be there at this time, so he would usually be doing something with her. There was no doubt something missing without her around.

He considered finding Warren, learning more about his new friend. But he also knew the first few days at the facility were filled with appointment after appointment and it could be exhausting. He also figured things like that probably exasperated his condition and did not want to make it any worse.

The shifting of light in his room sent his eyes from his hands and he never expected Ally to take a seat next to his bed, the brunette in a pair of worn sweatpants and a sweater he assumed belonged to her boyfriend. He was too shocked to say a word to her, though the girl could clearly feel his eyes on her. He opened and shut his mouth several times before he decided to keep it shut, slowly inching the chair closer to her, while still giving her a distance.

He could tell she hadn't slept since last night. Everything about the Ally sitting in front of him was not the girl he met the first day almost a month ago. She was beyond disheveled. If it had been any other time, he would've felt a pride inside of him that she didn't care enough to alter her appearance anymore, but it was not the time to even consider thoughts like that. He wanted instead in the worst way to consul her and give her some peace in such a horrid time, but he knew better than to speak empty words that she really didn't need to hear. How many cards and phone calls would she get from well-meaning friends and family that were nice, but were not going to bring back her boyfriend? He refused to be one of those.

He was still debating with what to do when her shoulders rose every so slightly and then there was a tiny noise from her throat. He realized seconds before the sobs started that she was cracking and he wheeled himself over as quick as he could, grabbing her as close as his lacking body would allow him to shelter the girl whose walls couldn't even hide that kind of heartache.


	17. Chapter 17

**I am so sorry for the wait of this chapter! No excuses... well, there are excuses and a lot of them, but no one wants to hear them anyway, right? Anyway, I am here with a new chapter and I'm pretty pumped to get back to writing regularly and I hope you guys are ready for more regular updates. I don't have much more to say other than I hope y'all are ready for some adorable stuff to come. ;)**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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Ally cried for what seemed like forever, and Austin didn't budge from where he sat. Finally, she pushed gently off him and wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve, looking at him lost, nearly shattered his heart. He swallowed hard before taking her hand and squeezing it, to which she hiccupped and closed her eyes, still unable to calm her breathing enough to take a deep breath. Then, she got up and silently went over to his other dresser and began to rearrange things, followed by fixing the bedding on the bed, stopping at the very end to stare out the window at the sun.

"You can just sit there. You don't have to do anything."

She looked briefly at the chair which they were in only minutes before and then sat down on his bed, not giving him a proper answer to his statement. "I've been in the parking lot most of the day. I saw Dez go into the hospital, so I waited until he left to come in. I got your voicemail in the elevator." Instead she said that, which seemed out of place, but he figured whatever was going on in her head was probably jumbled.

Austin couldn't help but be surprised. She was there all along? There was something so kind about being absolutely destroyed but knowing how important his conversation with Dez would be to wait until he was gone. It was heartbreaking at the same time. He shook his head at the thought and then stared back at her, still not wanting to use absent words when they were not necessary.

"I didn't know where else to go. It made sense for me to come here."

Any other time he would've made a joke, but instead the comment made his heart swell. He never would've thought the cold brunette would end up meaning so much to him, but he was proud that her first place to run had been to him. Was it just pride?

As if timing couldn't be worse, his legs started to spasm. She glanced down at his body and looked around his nightstand for the spasm medication, one of the few he took by mouth and not by IV. "Did you take these today?"

He didn't want the conversation to turn to him—like it always seemed to, but not answering her could prove worse in the long run. "The last time I took them was yesterday. I haven't needed them as of yet."

"Take two," she ordered him and he couldn't help but smile—for even a brief second, he was shown the bossy, demanding part of Ally he couldn't help but miss. It didn't go past her either because she narrowed her eyes and stuck the bottle out further, giving him a deadly look he didn't want to cross. She walked over to the far side of the room where she had installed a small mini fridge, taking a bottle of water from inside. Begrudgingly, he took the pills and followed her with his eyes back to the chair.

"Thanks."

"Any news?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I have another appointment tomorrow. Supposedly the swelling has gone down enough for them to try another test. More than likely, I'll know the status tomorrow."

"Are you nervous?"

He wasn't sure. There was a part of him that knew finding out could change his life forever, permanently this time, or it could begin the journey to recovery. The options seemed so black and white, despite how many times his occupational and physical therapists were trying to make it gray. Single handedly, finding out that his injury was complete would mean a lifetime in a metal cage, so to speak, wherein finding out it was incomplete could mean better odds to complete recovery.

"I want to know, but at the same time, not knowing seems like a less scary option sometimes."

She nodded and then looked back at him, "Would you mind company? I know your appointments usually fall later in the afternoon, but…"

"Of course. You can come."

"Thanks."

He smiled at her, going over to his bed so that he could transfer for a while. Sitting in one position was bad for his lower body, so he knew it was best he get out of the chair. She immediately stood up and put the brakes on, offering her hand wordlessly so that she could take some of his weight and make it a smoother transition. They worked so quietly these days he forgot how awkward it had been in the beginning.

"You've got a bruise on your lower calf," she noticed, her fingers tracing over the area, though he couldn't feel it. There was a brief silence as he mourned the loss of that sort of feeling, then realized how ridiculous it was to even be worried about his own damn body when Ally's boyfriend had just died. He didn't even know the details as of yet.

Still, he felt as if he owed her an explanation. Knowing Ally, she wouldn't stop until he gave her one, anyway. "I stumbled this morning getting out of the bed, might've happened then."

"I should've been here," she murmured, helping him situate his legs on the bed before covering them out of habit. While Austin was not as shamed anymore considering the bruises had mainly faded on his good leg and the amputated one was just a part of him he could no longer deny, it was something they always seemed to do when they were together. The blanket was a part of them, he supposed.

"No one expected you to be," he finally retorted, keeping his voice soft, in case she honestly thought he was blaming her for not being around. She really couldn't blame herself for not being there, could she? He understood, and he was more than willing to explain to her that the staff would too. No one would hold it against her. Besides, he needed to get used to transferring on his own more often. One day, he wouldn't have Ally around to help him on days he just didn't feel up to par.

She gave him a half-hearted look, as if the girl that loved to argue just couldn't do it that day. "I should've been here."

"Okay." How else could he answer that? He didn't want to keep pressing the same argument when the answer to either side was not going to change.

She gave him another glare in what seemed like out of nowhere, one he wasn't sure he deserved. "Stop it!"

" _What?_ "

"You would've made a joke at any other time. You would've said something really stupid, or really insulting about me, I would've rolled my eyes, affectionately called you an idiot or something like that, we would've laughed, and it would've been normal," she chided, closing her eyes only for a second before they filled briefly with tears. She made a sweeping motion with her hand and the fierce, proud Ally broke through the sadness, if only for a second. Seconds later, the glare was back.

"I just… I didn't want to upset you. I know how we are, but there is also a time and place for jokes and I did not want to be that sort of guy that pretended what you're going through isn't important or warranted or whatever else someone might say and glaze over it with some dumb joke when all I want to know is that you are okay."

"I'm not okay and I'm not going to be okay, but for God's sake some normalcy would be fucking fantastic right now," she spat.

Austin bit his lip in apprehension, then gave her what she wanted. "For someone who doesn't believe in God, that's quite a statement to make."

She laughed bitterly at first, and then the tears started a second time. Austin just sighed as she slid off the chair and came closer to him, leaning her head down on his chest. They were one for some time, before Ally got up and muttered an apology. She then adjusted his sheets. Austin couldn't take the busy work and grabbed her wrist, "Get me my chair, please."

"Why?"

"We need to get out of this room. C'mon, get it."

She did as she was told and they were off through the hallway, Austin peeked into Jake's room as they went past, noticing that he wasn't around. Austin had not seen Cassidy that morning either. Maybe they were out on their own, probably at a movie or something fun that the redhead always seemed to plan. He did notice Warren in his room, staring blankly at the ceiling, though alarmingly his head turned as they passed, as if he knew that it was Austin.

 _Your wheels make a funny noise,_ he remembered him saying the day before and shook his head. What else could he hear for what his eyes couldn't see?

"My father was his surgeon," she said once they were outside and she was guiding his chair over the bumpy sidewalk to the area they were in only a week's previous with Cassidy and Jake. "He was supposed to save him. I can't face my father. I can't look at him. There's a part of me that knows it's not his fault and I could never blame him, but there is this rash, unhinged side of me that says he should've been able to save him, do something to stop whatever injuries he had."

"You haven't spoken to him at all?"

Ally sat down on the bench and faced Austin with a shake of her head. She looked a little less pale outside in the sun, but without make up on and her hair tossed so casually, it was hardly the girl he was used to seeing. He didn't mind this girl though; there was nothing hidden about her. Her entire being seemed to be on display. It seemed wrong that such a horrible event had to happen for him to meet this girl, but he was grateful for the opportunity too.

"I haven't been home."

"Ally, the accident was almost two days ago now."

"Yes. The surgery went overnight into the afternoon."

"What happened?" he asked gently. "No one ever told me."

She took a shaky breath in, wiping her eyes with a sleeve again. It seemed like a great time to pull tissues out of some compartment in his chair, but he didn't have that luxury. In fact, he didn't even know what was behind him in the chair, it was something that Ally usually used to store her bag, or whatever else she needed when they left his room.

"I mean, you don't have to…"

"No," she said forcefully. "I'm sorry. I mean, I don't know the exact details. I just know that night we were supposed to go to dinner his family stayed out later than originally planned. I guess they were drinking, or his family was. Connor was sober, but he didn't leave the restaurant until well after one in the morning. He had quite a drive back to his parents house and about halfway home some guy ran a red light and t-boned his side of the car. The guy was drunk."

Every ounce of color drained from Austin's face. The love of Ally's life was taken from her because of some idiot just like him. Some idiot who decided that their life and those around them did not matter so they got behind the wheel of someone's car and put their luck to the test. Austin was lucky that he only injured himself permanently and that everyone else just walked away with scratches. It didn't mean he was any less horrible though. He could've easily taken someone's life.

Connor was supposed to be a lawyer…

"Austin?"

"I can't believe you even want to talk to me right now," he muttered without thinking.

"What?"

"How can you look at me? It could've easily been me."

"What?" she asked again, putting her hand on his. "Are you feeling okay? Is anything hurting you?"

"I'm fine," he muttered back. "Ally, I could've done that. That could've been me. I could've hurt someone… I could've killed someone. What happened to the guy that hit him? Is he dead?"

She shook her head through a confused stare, sighing. "No. He walked away with minimal injuries."

"See? I get it now. I deserve exactly what happened to me."

"Austin, stop—"

"Ally, honestly if you want to go. I get it. I feel like I can't—"

"Austin, _shut the hell up_."

He froze at the sound of her voice, the one he remembered her using on the woman in the aquarium. He looked at her from his panic, noticing that there was no ill colors to her face, nor were her eyes full of hatred or disgust.

"I don't blame you. I couldn't blame you. Think about it for a second. You did not hurt anyone. Did you make a mistake? Yes, you sure as hell did. Was it really stupid? Yeah, I would say it was. But, look at yourself. I mean that in the nicest way. I'm pretty sure you are paying for that mistake every day."

"It doesn't mean—"

"I don't care what you did in the past." She took a deep breath, looking out toward the parking lot and zoning out for a minute. It seemed as if she could not think of what she wanted to say, not that he blamed her. If she truly hadn't slept in two days, her mind was probably completely gone. "I'm just trying to say please don't let something like that eat at you. I'm so glad that you survived and that nothing worse than what happened, happened. Because I sure as hell don't know where I would've gone today if I never met you."

"I'm glad that we worked things out," he agreed, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. He thought back to only moments before when he was freaking out and how quick she was to ask about him, forgetting about her own turmoil because Austin might be in physical pain. Ally might try to look tough, but he realized she was going to be a great doctor someday. "I don't think I would have gotten through these last few weeks without you."

"Would you mind if I spend more time here in the next few weeks?"

"You can move in if you really want to," he joked. There was a time and place to say to her that maybe she should be home and talk to her family, but it wouldn't go over well, and he liked the idea of her being around. One because he could keep an eye on her. And two, selfishly, he wouldn't be alone either. "Though, I don't think there is space in my room for any of those kitten heels."

The smile that came across her face following the joke was probably the best thing he saw in weeks. It light up her face in such an innocent way and reminded him just how much he missed her. A thought came over him as she cracked up, nudging him with her other hand. He almost craved that feeling—seeing Ally purely happy and it made him wonder: was it merely from a friendship standpoint, or was the absolute dread and worry that plagued him over the last two days until that very moment because he was falling for the girl sitting next to him?


	18. Chapter 18

**I am just going to say I have no excuses really for the delay in this. But I feel like I say that every time, but it's true. I apologize anyway for the wait, and also wanted to say this chapter marks about the halfway point for the story! YAY. I think this is more of a filler chapter, but it also has some characterization and development for some characters, as well as some moral issues and questions raised about people and how they deal. We'll see more of that in the next few chapters and it's something I think is fun to explore. Anyway, I'll shut up now. ;)**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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Austin spent the late afternoon convincing Ally to try and get some sleep. She refused to leave the hospital, not that he necessarily wanted her gone, but the lack of rest was going to do horrible things to her body soon if she didn't at least attempt to correct it. It took him nearly an hour to make her understand she could use his bed, especially considering the main nurse was Wendy and the thought that she wouldn't care—she knew the situation. It took longer for her to doze off, and several times he wanted to ask the formerly mentioned nurse for some sort of sedative to help her.

He busied himself by going through the DVD collection and putting it into a different order, but quickly grew bored, leaving the room as quietly as his wheels would let him, deciding to see if anyone else was in the same boat. He found Warren by the nurses' station, toting one of those red and white canes that the blind used.

"Austin!" the male patient stated as he neared him—were his wheels that loud? Jeez. "You've been a stranger all day."

"That's because Ally is back," Wendy said affectionately, though there was a brief moment that her eyebrows furrowed and she gave him a sad smile, one that he understood immediately. "Is she finally resting?"

"I convinced her to. I told her to stay as long as she needed to. I hope that won't get you in trouble."

"Not at all," she muttered, giving him a dismissive wave of the hand.

"Blind guy still here," the other chirped, giving the general direction of the two a wide smile. "I still suck at using this thing, so advanced apologies if I accidentally kick you with it or anything." There was a brief pause. "Well, it's not like you'd feel it anyway," he mused, earning a slap on the shoulder from the nurse, and Austin laughed. He liked that he didn't shy away from such jokes. He thought back to Ally earlier, how eggshells were terrible when you've experienced something like they did. "If I offended you, it's a little late for me to apologize."

"I don't care," he laughed back. "Its not a lie."

"See?" he fired to Wendy, who only rolled her eyes, clearly aware she was not going to deter the two boys from their banter. Warren was the kind of teen who didn't listen anyway. "He doesn't care. What are you doing, Austin? Care for some company? I met Jake earlier. He wouldn't shut up about that Cassidy girl. She seemed nice enough, but if you are going to talk my ear off about some chick, I'd much prefer you tell me now."

"I won't," he chuckled, following after the tall kid, finding it had to keep up with his long strides. Everyone else was either short, or in Jake's case a little unsteady so he never really had a problem. For a newly blind guy, he sure moved fast.

"Thanks."

"Did I say that out loud?"

"Yes," came the reply.

"I'd say sorry but I don't think you care. I guess I'm spending too much time with Ally. I've been more blunt as of late."

"Don't really care," he chimed. "I like blunt. No point in beating around the bush. But I thought we were not going to discuss the chick."

"I didn't mean to. I will say one thing though, she's had a rough few days, so when you do meet her, try to keep your mouth shut for a little while."

The dirty blond boy stopped near the end of the hallway, turning to face Austin who only managed to stop just before running him over. "I'm not completely heartless. What happened? Did her boyfriend die?"

"Yeah."

"Rough," he mused. "So, what is there to do around this place? I mean, I get that I'm sort of limited in things that I can do well, but if I have to listen to another movie or get put into another pep talk about how my life is still so great, I might throw myself down a flight of stairs. It would be easy, you know? They'd think it was an accident. Poor blind guy didn't see them coming and he just slipped." He used his hands to make a grand motion, then pretended to fall flat on the floor. "Splat."

"Graphic."

"Just a little," he chirped, leaning against the wall.

He knew the statement was morbid and probably not as comical as he tried to make it come off as, but he still laughed at the joke. He understood how limiting his own injury could be, but he could at least see. All the dumb morale things the rehab facility put in place pretty much included having functioning eyes, so he knew where he was coming from. He didn't have anything to suggest, nor was he really in the mood himself to try and figure something out.

"Time's up, you lose the game."

"Are you ever not sarcastic?"

Warren shrugged, "I'm not sure. Probably not. I'll get back to you never."

"Great. You and Ally are going to want to kill each other."

"Aha! There you go with the Ally girl again. You must really wanna bang her."

"What?" he said much too quickly. "No way. I mean, she's my friend. I'm just thinking that she's probably going to want to throw you off the stairs herself within a few minutes. I sort of drove her nuts the first week or so. But, in my defense, she was rough around the edges herself."

"Yeah, but you've only talked about her since I found you before." He wanted to point out that he didn't find him, that Austin came up to him beside the station, but figured it was a pointless endeavor to try and argue. "I mean, I heard you earlier with some guy. I didn't recognize the voice, not that I recognize everyone's voice yet, but I assume he must be a friend of yours from outside this place. I mean, you do have those, right?"

"Yes," he said defensively, though he was beginning to realize just how little people really cared. He got some cards in the actual hospital, and a few of his mutual friends with Piper showed up to 'wish him well' but other than Dez, no one really seemed to be in his corner. It was a depressing thought, one he didn't want to dwell on too long. Popularity only went so far, he was coming to realize. It would only get worse if people were to find out the truth. He couldn't let Dez take the blame, but how would anyone ever believe him? Realizing he'd been in his own mind for the last few minutes, he gave a delayed response, "I haven't seen anyone come for you, either."

"Ouch," he laughed, pretending to clutch his chest. "That's harsh, dude."

"Sorry," he apologized, realizing it wasn't fair to say such things. It was a touchy subject for him, and he didn't want to take away that feeling for someone else either. "I'm just noticing how little some of my so called friends really care."

"Same boat. I mean, who wants to deal with the blind guy?"

"The wheelchair is extra scary. Oh no, you might have to actually touch me now! Its like they think I'm diseased or they can catch it. You should've seen this one kid I played baseball with a few years ago. He kept his distance from me in the hospital, wouldn't even look me in the eye. It was ridiculous."

"I can't say if they would look me in the eye or not," he mused with a grin, "But all jokes aside, I get that dude. My friends who are still around think that it's sort of funny." There was a lull in the conversation for a second, as the other looked away and Austin understood that walls were up in everyone in some shape or form. "I make jokes, its just how I get by. But it's like they really think it's some punch line they can keep going at, never really seem to realize this is permanent. Maybe it's a defense mechanism, or something like that but it sucks. We're dudes, but it wouldn't hurt to have actual concern thrown my way once in a while."

"I get that, but from how you tackle most things, would you respond the same way?"

"Fair point. I guess not."

Austin was going to ask him something else when he felt someone touch the back of his shoulder. Ally stood beside him with some disheveled bed hair going on, which he smirked at and went right over her head.

"I smell perfume. Would there be someone else here now or do you have something else to tell me?"

Ally glanced over at Warren's figure, giving him a quizzical look with her tired eyes. He noted she only slept for about an hour, which bothered him but some rest was better than none at all. "I'm Ally. I don't think we've met."

"I don't believe so. I have heard a lot about you."

"Really now?" she said, giving the blond below her another look, one that he only shrugged over, as if he couldn't help but talk about her. "I would think with him it would be all negative, so I apologize for whatever monster that you think I am."

There was humor in her tone, but still Warren looked confused. "Oh, quite the contrary. He hasn't shut up about you since I got here. I'm Warren by the way. I'm the blind guy, just in case you missed my wandering eye and the obnoxious cane at my side. I apologize in advance if I stare at your chest or somewhere else that might be offensive."

"Hilarious," she muttered and Austin snorted, since his humor obviously didn't bother her whatsoever.

Austin was about to point this out when Warren's knees buckled much like the day's previous and he slid to the floor, alarming both himself and Ally as he sank. "What's going on?" she said to Austin as she ran over, immediately putting her hand on the small of his back. It made him jealous for some god forsaken reason and he pushed the thought from his mind, realizing his new friend was having another one of those post-concussion things he seemed to experience.

"Do you want me to get Wendy?" he asked Warren, who had dropped the cane at that point and was covering his eyes with his fingertips, curling into himself. If he heard Ally, he didn't bother to answer.

"Austin," Ally stated with authority and alarm, though gave him a panicked look, "What is going on?"

"It's from his accident. He gets these… headaches, I guess. Sometimes they pass or sometimes he gets a lot of pain. I don't really know much about them. Warren?"

"Give me a minute," he spat, and Ally released her grip from his shoulders.

The two others watched in anticipation as the dirty blond tried to sort through whatever his body was doing to him. It was weird to be on the other end of it. It also seemed to annoy Ally, who was fidgeting beside the sunken teenager, still grasping at his head like it would will it away. Austin knew she didn't like being helpless and not in charge, something Warren was taking away from her without realizing it.

"Warren, let me get Wendy."

"For fuck's sake, Austin shut up a second."

"Maybe—"

"Just shut the fuck up," he growled.

Ally's look grew protective and she folded her arms, but she didn't say a word while he writhed. "Throw words at me all you want, Warren, but I'm going to get Wendy for God's sake."

He left the room without waiting for an answer, wheels squealing for added insult.

 **From the Ground Up**

Ally was already mentally exhausted, so why not throw some rehab newbie with severe headaches her way? Austin had left only a moment ago to get Wendy, and she was trying to decide if the mouthy teenager below her was in any shape to move off the filthy floor. She didn't know him, even if her friend did. She didn't want to overstep boundaries, but this was still a form of a hospital and they were not known for cleanliness.

"Hey, maybe you should move off the floor. It might help."

"Why does everyone think they have a fucking answer to something they haven't experienced?" he growled, turning upright and curling into his knees. The lanky boy's body seemed to relax if only for a second or two, and he sighed, leaning his head back against the metal bed frame.

"I get that," she replied. "But I wasn't talking about helping your head. I was just thinking you've got yesterday's lunch remnants all over you now."

"Fucking fantastic," he muttered, rubbing the inner parts of his eyes. "It's stopping, go tell hero boy that he doesn't have to save the day."

"He was just trying to help you." She grabbed him by the upper arm, bringing his lanky body to the bed. "He doesn't have a lot of control over things these days. Try not to be so harsh on something you haven't had much experience with," she clipped icily, glaring at him even though it didn't matter—she was good at fighting battles, that much she knew.

Warren looked like he wanted to argue but Austin returned with Wendy in that moment. She was holding several medications and a chart to her chest, but seemed surprised to find the room as calm as it was. It was Austin who spoke first, "What? It's over?"

"Yeah, if you would've waited you would've seen that. Because you can _see_."

Ally had enough. She was not in the mood for the guy's self pity, regardless if it was warranted or not. He was not around only abled people, he was attacking someone who was in an immensely similar situation and was struggling enough on his own, forget having the guilt of doing the wrong thing for someone when his goal was the opposite.

"Warren's fine, Austin. Let's go take a walk somewhere so Wendy can remove the giant stick that's in his butt."

Wendy's smile was short, but she understood regardless. Ally secretly sighed in relief, knowing the statement she made while technically fair could be overstepping her boundaries, but she suspected that the nurse was struggling with this new patient herself. It was no secret by her expression she knew just how the blind teenager could be, and while professionally exasperated or annoyed, she was probably not as much the sort privately, in return for showing concern where it was needed. She placed an arm on Ally's shoulder when she passed by.

"I'm sorry about that," he said when they were out of ear shot. "He's moody."

"I get that, but he doesn't have to treat you like crap."

There was a brief pause. "You were worse to me in the very beginning."

She wanted to be offended by the comment, but she knew it was true. The thought made her feel sick, and she tried to force the past out of her mind. They both knew how they acted in the first few weeks was over, but she still felt guilty. There was so much more she could've done had she not been such a jerk to him. He didn't deserve it, nor did she understand why he brought the worst out in her. Maybe it was because he saw more in her, something that few people bothered with.

"Maybe that's part of it. I gave you such a hard time for no reason, I don't want to see you be abused by someone else again. You were trying to help him. He just wants someone to yell back, so he can pretend everyone is trying to hurt him."

"Everyone reacts differently to shit situations."

"Yes, but he doesn't get a free pass, I don't care what is wrong with him. Either he realizes that soon, or he can spend his time alone," she ranted. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't say that. I'm now acting like I know what is going through his head, when I don't. I can't talk from experience, something that he was saying to me and I … forget it. It's not important. Just don't let him run you over, Austin. You don't deserve that."

"If anyone is getting run over, it probably would be him, by me. I mean, if we grease my wheels enough, he would never hear me coming."

Ally giggled, stopping near the entrance. He stopped too, smiling up at her. Austin had such warm, welcoming eyes that she grew to crave. They gave her peace and comfort. "I missed you. Thank you for letting me stick around today. Things have made more sense since I came here. It's not a lot, but it's enough to keep me going." She leaned down and wrapped him into a tight hug. She knew by coming there she was technically overstepping rehab boundaries and could get herself, him, and the staff in a lot of trouble. But no one seemed to care, and she was so appreciative of the little family she garnered in her last few weeks there.

Ally knew she couldn't stay the night at the hospital and had to go home and face her father. She promised Austin she would be back in the early morning, ready to tackle their next adventure and the fate of his injury in the later afternoon. She could see in his eyes he was petrified for that outcome and vowed to make sure the morning leading up to that appointment was filled with positive energy and things that would not remind him of what was to come.

Until then, she gathered her things and took the long drive home, wishing that every green light would go red and that there would be road work on every road. She wasn't ready to talk about things with anyone and she knew that her father would be gushing apologies and promises that he did all he could, things she very well knew deep down but just couldn't bare thinking of yet.

She stopped at a food joint near her house, figuring if she didn't eat soon she would pass out. The salad was bland and basic, much like she needed and she took it inside of her house and placed it on the table, figuring she would first take a shower and change her clothes, seeing as they were stained and way too ripe. Her father's car was in the driveway when she entered, meaning he had yet to bring it into their garage. This was a sign he'd only been home a few minutes himself. She took advantage of the fact and raced up the stairs, dodging one of the cleaning staff and running smack into her mother.

"Mom," she gasped, having not seen her car in the garage or in the driveway. She didn't see much of her mother in the summer anyway. She tried to pick up extra hours during this time, knowing that it was a slow period in medicine yet people tended to call out because of the weather. "I thought you'd be at the clinic."

"I left early," she said softly, trying to pull Ally into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Sweetie. I tried to call you and you didn't answer. I was growing worried. Trish said you sent her a text though, so I figured you were safe."

"I'm okay," she forced out, really not ready to have that heart-to-heart. Her mother only saw her pain, which was understandable, and wanted to make it better. She had no idea that Ally just wanted to push it away for the time being and not talk about it. "I spent the day with friends and I'm really tired. I just want to freshen up, eat, and go to bed. It's been a really long day."

"I know my baby, but don't you think you should come down to the kitchen with your father and I. We're worried and it would be good for us to sit as a family for once. Maybe we could even watch a movie. I requested the next few days off. Maybe your internship would allow you some time off, too. I bet they would understand. Your father was granted time off—we never spend time together so this is perfect. It wouldn't hurt to get away, we have that rental house down in—"

"Honestly, I appreciate it but I really don't want to take any time off. This internship is the only way I'm getting into school and I have to be there for my patient. It just doesn't seem fair to him to take time off. I want to be there."

"Honey, that's the pain talking. Take some time off. Come down to the beach with us. I bet we could even find that old restaurant you loved so much if we tried. Please."

Ally forced a smile onto her face, "Maybe in a few weeks. I'm going to take a shower. I wouldn't wait up, okay?"

"Ally—"

She darted past her and pumped her body forward fast enough to get to her room and close the door. Regardless of how much she was trying, her mother knew that a closed door was just that, a sign to leave her alone and let her be. She took a deep breath and sighed, leaning against the frame and closing her eyes. If her mother was that pumped about it, it meant she had already spoken to her father and he would be much worse. Her stomach grumbled angrily, but she made a choice. If she went down to the kitchen, the two of them would be waiting. So, instead, she took a shower, and curled up in her bed, in her sheets and waited for complete darkness to cover her eyes.


End file.
